BV  639. C4  B3  1875               1 

Barrows,  W, 

(William) , 

1815-1891 

The  church 

and  her  children 

THE 


Church  and  Her  Children. 

BY 

WILLIAM  BARROWS,   D.D. 

"Feed  my  L<vmbs." 


"Ecclesia  ab  Apostolis  traditionem  suscepit  etiani  parvulis  baptismura 
dare."  — Grig  EN. 

"Hoc  ecclesia  semper  habuit,  semper  teiuxit;  hoc  a  majornm  fide  percepit; 
hoc  usque  in  tineni  pei-severauter  custodit.  .  .  .  Consuetudo  matiis  eodesue 
hi  baptizandis  parvulis  uequaquam  sperauda  est,  neque  uUo  modo  supertlua 
deputauda. "  —  Aug  ustine. 


BOSTON: 
CONGREGATIONAL   PUBLISHING   SOCIETY, 

COXGKEGATIUNAL.   HOUSE. 


COPYRIGHT, 

CONGREGATIONAL  PUBLISHING  SOCIETY, 

1875. 


Stekf.otyped  bt 

C.  J.  Peters  &  Son,  73  Fedeeal  Stkeet, 

Boston. 


INTEODUCTORY  NOTE. 


This  Treatise  has  grown  out  of  a  necessity.  In  early  pro- 
fessional life  the  author  felt  the  want  of  such  a  discussion  of 
the  topic  of  the  volume  as  would  cover  all  related  points,  since 
a  full  discussion  could  alone  bring  a  safe  conclusion.  Only 
fragments,  however,  of  such  a  treatment  were  found,  with  wide 
omissions. 

The  relations  of  baptism  to  circumcision,  the  Christian 
Church  as  related  to  the  Abrahamic,  household  baptisms  in  the 
New  Testament,  the  constitution  of  the  Church  of  God,  infant 
baptism,  infant  church-membership,  infant  baptism  in  the 
early  Christian  centuries,  and  sundry  other  subdivisions,  had 
been  made  the  themes  of  isolated  and  valuable  essays. 

But  these  could  with  difficulty  be  found ;  and,  when  brought 
together,  it  was  seen  that  they  left  wide  chasms  in  the  facts 
and  logic  and  uses  of  the  subject.  This  incompleteness  in  the 
presentation  of  the  topic  has  been  the  misfortune  of  infant 
baptism  in  the  vague  notions  concerning  it,  resulting  in  some 
unpopularity  and  a  growing  disuse  of  it. 

In  the  forty  brief  chapters  in  this  volume  an  attempt  is 
made  to  remedy  these  difficulties.  The  work  has  three  pecu- 
liarities. It  distinguishes  the  Church  of  God  from  the  so-called 
churches  of  men.  It  unfolds  historically  proselyte  baptism  as 
practised  in  the  times  of  John  the  Baptist,  showing  its  vital 
and  interpreting  connection  with  the  Christian  dispensation. 
It  gives,  as  is  believed,  every  passage  relating  to  the  subject 
in  every  Greek  and  Latin  author  or  council  between  Augustine 
and  St.  John. 


IV  INTKODUCTORY   NOTE. 

The  original,  when  extant,  has  been  added  in  foot-notes,  that 
the  scholar  might  here  find  a  complete  hand-book  of  ancient 
authors  on  this  subject,  and  an  end  of  search,  when  studying 
the  topic  historically,  and  at  a  distance  from  libraries. 

Authorities  sometimes  cited  for  infant  baptism  have  been 
omitted.  Among  them  are  Clemens  Romanus,  Hermas,  the 
council  of  Eliberis,  and  the  Apostolic  Constitutions.  It  has 
not  been  thought  best  to  introduce  any  evidence  whose  authen- 
ticity or  genuineness  could  be  questioned,  or  that  would  need 
to  be  drawn  out  by  an  inference,  or  enforced  by  an  argument. 

This  labor  of  leisure  hours  has  greatly  endeared  the  Church 
to  the  heart  of  the  writer  ;  and  it  has  been  only  a  pleasure  and 
a  joy  to  unfold  the  divine  method  of  providing  for  the  Children 

of  the  Church. 

W.  Barrows. 
Reading,  ISIass.,  April,  1875. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I.  „^^„ 

PAGE 

The  Church  of  God  axd  of  the  Bible 1 

CHAPTER  n. 
When  was  the  Church  of  God  organized?    ....      10 

CHAPTER  ni. 
The  Other  Theory 26 

CHAPTER  IV. 
The  Original  Creed  of  the  Church  of  God  ...      37 

CHAPTER  V. 
Who  were  adsiitted  to  the  Original  Church  of  God?     .      40 

CHAPTER  VI. 
The  Double  Basis  of  the  Church  of  God      .       .       .       .      43 

CHAPTER  Vn. 
No  Second  Church  of  God 48 

CHAPTER  Vm. 
Circumcision  and  Baptism  serve  the  Same  End    ...      69 

CHAPTER  IX. 
A  KeFOBMEB  in  JUDiEA 67 


VI  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  X. 
The  Baptism  of  John  no  Novelty     .       .       .       .       .       .71 

CHAPTER  XI. 
Jewish  Baptisms 80 

CHAPTER  XII. 
The  Rabbies  and  Talmuds  as  Authority         ....      91 

CHAPTER  Xin. 
The  Great  Cosemand 99 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
Objections  .       .  107 

CHAPTER  XV. 
Christ  and  the  Children 125 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
The  Silence  of  Christ  . 131 

CHAPTER  XVII. 
The  Position  of  the  Apostles 136 

CHAPTER  XVin. 
Household  Baptisms 142 

CHAPTER  XIX. 
Summary  of  the  Biblical  Argument 150 

CHAPTER  XX. 
The  Hjstobical  Argument  opened 154 

CHAPTER  XXL 
The  Pelagian  Controversy,  and  Infant  Baptism        .       .    162 

CHAPTER  XXn. 
Augustine  on  Infant  Baptism 175 


CONTENTS.  VU 

CHAPTER  XXin. 
Innocent  and  Chrysostom 1^1 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 
Four  Councils,  and  Smicius 187 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

Ambrose  of  Milan,  Basil,  Gregory  Naziazen,  and 

Optatus 1^* 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 
An  Objection  Considered 208 

CHAPTER  XXVn. 
The  Question  before  Councils  again 216 

CHAPTER  XXVin. 
The  Slxty-six  Bishops,  and  Cyprian's  Letter  to  Fidus      .    221 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 
The  Testeviony  of  Origen     .        . 2.30 

CHAPTER  XXX. 
Tertullian 237 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 
Iren^us:  "regenerated  unto  God" 244 

CHAPTER  XXXII. 
Historic  Silence 257 

CHAPTER  XXXIII. 
Historic  Silence  of  the  Jews    .       .       .       .       .       •       •    273 

CHAPTER  XXXIV. 
Summary  of  the  Historical  ARouaiENt 270 

CHAPTER  XXXV. 
The  Relations  of  Baptized  Children  to  the  Church       .    282 


Vlll  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XXXVI. 
The  Position  of  Baptized  Children  in  the  Chctbch    .       .    297 

CHAPTER  XXXVn. 
The  Neglect  of  Baptized  Childben  by  the  Church  .        .    301 

CHAPTER  XXXVni. 
What  can  the  Church  do  for  Her  Children?     .       .        .    313 

CHAPTER  XXXIX. 
The  Ancient  Treatment  of  Baptized  Children  .        .        .    318 

CHAPTER  XL. 
To  and  For  and  About  Parents.  —  Conclusion    .       .       .    330 


THE  CHURCH  AND  HEE  CHILDREN. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE   CHURCH  OF   GOD   AND  OF  THE  BIBLE. 

THE  Church  of  God  is  very  old.  At  the  first, 
the  liuman  family  was  wholly  on  the  side  of 
God,  and  so  no  distinct  organization  was  needed  to 
mark  his  friends.  But  this  period  was  one  of  sad 
brevity.  In  Adam  all  died ;  and  the  race  in  rebel- 
lion went  out  from  under  the  divine  government, 
so  far  as  a  disloyal  purpose  and  overt  acts  could 
carry  them.  "  Professing  themselves  to  be  wise,  they 
became  fools."  Yet  God  was  not  wholly  without 
friends  and  witnesses  in  any  of  those  earlier  days  of 
the  revolt.  The  grace  implied  in  that  first  Messi- 
anic promise  to  our  apostate  parents  —  a  promise  no 
doubt  greatly  amplified  and  expounded  and  made 
practical  at  the  time,  and  continuously  afterward,  by 
those  who  received  it  —  wrought  effectually  in  many 
hearts  through  the  Holy  Ghost,  regenerating  and 
producing  faith  in  Christ  and  a  holy  walk  with  God. 
''  By  faith  [in  this  promise]  Abel  offered  unto  God 


2  THE   CHUKCH  AND   HER   CHILDREN. 

a  more  excellent  sacrifice  than  Cain,"  having  come 
to  a  good  perception  and  acceptance  of  Him  who  in 
the  fidness  of  time  should  bruise  the  serpent's  head. 
Enoch  also  walked  with  God,  and  obtained  honora- 
ble mention  among  those  who  were  saved  by  faith. 
So  was  it  with  Noah,  Abraham,  and  the  other  patri- 
archs. At  length  these  friends  of  God  came  to  be 
an  organization  or  body,  with  central  principles  and 
visible  outlines  more  or  less  distinct,  and  with  a 
power  of  continuance  from  age  to  age. 

For  this  body  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  "  Head  over 
all  things; "  and  he  is  made  to  show  this  in  every  age, 
with  a  distinctness  greater  or  less,  proportioned  to 
the  doctrinal  understanding  and  to  the  spirituality 
of  the  body  of  that  age.  This  headship  pertains  to 
him,  as  having  the  world  under  his  charge  in  his 
labors  of  redemption,  in  the  working-out  of  which, 
tliis  body  is  the  visible  centre  of  labor  and  fruit  and 
hope.  This  body  constitutes  the  party  in  this  world, 
nominal  or  actual,  on  the  side  of  God,  and  in  dis- 
tinction from  those  who,  as  the  only  other  party, 
adopt  systems  of  pagan  and  false  religions,  or  who 
confessedly  reject  the  divine  system  without  adopt- 
ing any  other. 

This  organization  or  body,  as  the  loyal  party  for 
God  in  a  revolted  province,  is  known  by  various 
names  and  titles  in  the  Old  Testament,  as  "  The 
congregation,"  '^  My  chosen,"  "  The  children  of 
Jacob,"  "  The  holy  seed,"  "  The  people  of  the  God 
of  Abraham,"  "  The  assembly  of  the  people  of 
God,"  "  A  special  people,"  "  The  generation  of  the 
righteous,"  "  His  seed." 


THE  CHURCH  OF  GOD  AND  OF  THE  BIBLE.    3 

When  we  come  into  the  Kcw  Testament,  we  find 
the  same  variety  and  deliniteness  of  expression  to 
point  out  a  people  specially  called  and  devoted  to 
God ;  and,  as  Knapp  well  remarks,  *'  All  the  terms 
used  to  designate  the  Israelites  as  the  peculiar  and 
favorite  people  of  God  are  transferred  to  Christians 
in  the  New  Testament."  ^ 

It  Avill  be  necessary  to  give  but  a  few  of  these 
titles.  ''The  Church:"  this  is  the  t'AxhjOia  of  the 
Septuagint  and  of  the  Greek  New  Testament,  and 
is  the  rendering  of  the  Hebrew  kah-hal^  '7np  an 
assembly.  So  the  dying  Stephen  speaks  of  ''the 
Church  in  the  wilderness,"  meaning  the  body  of  God's 
ancient  people  on  the  way  from  Egypt  to  Canaan. 
"  Christ  loved  the  Church,  and  gave  himself  for  it, 
.  .  .  that  he  might  present  it  to  himself  a  glorious 
Church."  "  God  hath  set  some  in  the  Church, 
first  apostles,"  &c.  "And  the  Lord  added  to 
the  Church  daily."  "  As  for  Saul,  he  made  havoc 
of  the  Church."  "  Give  none  offence,  neither  to  the 
Jews,  nor  to  the  Gentiles,  nor  to  the  Church  of 
God."  "If  he  shall  neglect  to  hear  them,  tell  it 
unto  the  Church."  In  two  instances  the  word 
"  synagogue "  is  used  to  express  the  assembly  of 
God's  people.^ 

We  have  also  such  expressions  as  "  The  kingdom 
of  heaven,"  "  The  kingdom  of  God,"  "  The  body  of 
Christ,"  "The  temple  of  God,"  "The  house  of 
God."  The  phrase,  "The  Church  of  God," 
71  Uxhiaia  rod  Oeov,  is  the  common  rendering  in  the 

1  Clnls.  Tbeol.  n.  470,  2a  Am.  ed.      2  James  ii.  2.    Heb.  x.  25. 


4  THE  CHURCH  AND  HER  CHILDREN. 

New-Testament  of  the  Old-Testament  phrase,  "  The 
congregation  of  the  Lord,"  r\yn'  Snp.^ 

All  these  expressions,  and  many  more,  refer  to  one 
and  the  same  thing,  —  the  body  of  the  people  of  God 
and  of  the  true  religion,  as  distinguished  from  all 
others.  The  terms  change  with  translations  and 
languages ;  but  the  body  they  describe  remains  the 
same,  —  the  confirmed  and  organized  friends  of  God 
through  the  ages. 

Nor  can  it  be  said  that  the  persons  so  indicated 
are  no  more  than  the  secret  elect  of  God,  scattered 
along  the  centuries,  unassociated,  and  known  only  to 
him ;  for  they  are  spoken  of  as  an  assembly,  a  soci- 
ety, having  belief,  experience,  and  ceremony,  that 
both  includes  and  excludes.  In  apostolic  times  they 
constituted  a  body  that  could  be  increased,  perse- 
cuted, and  appealed  to.  In  the  times  of  Christ's 
ministry,  and  before  there  was  any  "  Christian " 
Church,  they  constituted  a  visible,  judicial,  *and  exec- 
utive body :  "  If  he  shall  neglect  to  hear  them,  tell 
it  unto  the  Church ;  but  if  he  neglect  to  hear  the 
Church,  let  him  be  unto  thee  as  a  heathen  man  and 
a  publican." 

There  was  then  no  "  Christian  "  Church,  but  only 
"the  Church  of  God,"  an  organic,  limited  body, 
and,  in  the  estimation  of  our  Lord,  worthy  to  exer- 
cise spiritual  jurisdiction  and  discipline.  They  had 
exercised  it  for  ages  preceding,  even  back  as  far  as 
when  there  was  not  as  yet  even  a  Jew,  but  only 
that  ''  Church  in  the  wilderness." 

8  Compare  Ps.  xxii.  22,  and  Heb.  ii.  12,  in  the  Hebr.,  Sept.,  and 
Greek. 


THE  CHURCH  OF   GOD   AND  OF  THE  BIBLE.         5 

The  covenant  embracing  this  body  had  in  it  the 
plan  of  salvation,  and  the  offer  of  it  to  all  the  fami- 
lies of  the  earth.  '*  The  scripture,  foreseeing  that 
God  would  justify  the  heathen  through  faith,  preached 
before  the  gospel  unto  Abraham,  saying.  In  thee  shall 
all  nations  be  blessed."'*  Hence  there  Avas  com- 
mitted to  the  Church,  in  those  early  days,  the  divine 
records,  sacrameuts,  and  a  ministry,  as  to-day ;  all 
which  must  pertain  to  a  visible  organization,  and  not 
to  the  unknowui  and  scattered  elect ;  for  an  invisible, 
unknoAvn  body  cannot  have  human  offices,  officers, 
and  functions. 

Very  many  of  the  prosperous  and  adverse  events 
recorded  in  the  Old  Testament  derive  their  character 
and  importance  from  their  connection  Avith  this  or- 
ganization of  God's  friends.  The  Messiah  is  prom- 
ised to  it ;  is  represented  as  their  unseen  but  coming 
head;  and  the  glowing  prophecies  concerning  liis 
triumphs  have  their  centre  of  interest  in  the  welfare 
of  this  society. 

That  the  members  of  this  body  and  the  Jews 
were  not  identical,  is  evident  from  this  fact  (not  to 
mention  others  in  advance) :  that  some  of  their 
prophecies  of  Zion's  enlargement  by  the  ingather- 
ing of  the  Gentiles  were  not  to  be  fulfilled  —  aud,  in 
fact,  are  not  —  till  after  the  Jewish  nation  is  destroy- 
ed. The  continuance  and  enlargement  of  tlie  ancient 
Zion  runs  on  into  a  time  when  it  is  conceded  that  there 
is  a  Church  ;  and  then  the  ancient  and  modern  interest, 
spiritual,  so  blend  in  names  and  substances  and  aims 

4  Gal.  iii :  a 


6  THE  CHUECH  AND   HER   CHILDREN. 

as  to  show  that  the  two  were  never  but  one.  The 
total  similarity  proves  identity  ;  and  the  effort  to  make 
the  ancient  and  modern  Zion  two  Churches  ends  in 
mere  questions  of  development  and  chronology. 

The  phraseology  of  the  New  Testament  makes  it 
evident  also  that  there  is  one  broad,  general  Church, 
independent  of  particular  times  and  localities,  and 
more  comprehensive  than  the  Church  at  Jerusalem 
or  Corinth  or  Ephesus.  Saul  persecuted  "  the 
Church:  "  the  Lord  added  to  "  the  Church,"  and  set 
officers  in  "the  Church."  These  specifications  can- 
not apply  to  particular  churches,  but  must  refer  to 
that  general  body  of  God's  friends  which  is  not 
confined  to  time  and  place.  St.  Paul  says  to  the 
Corinthians,  "  God  hath  set  first,  apostles,  secon- 
darily, prophets,"  &c.,  and  then  adds,  "  Now  ye 
are  the  body  of  Christ,  his  Church."  But  a  body 
is  a  whole  :  and  so  that  Church  at  Corinth  could 
have  been  only  a  fractional  part.  Those  appoint- 
ments were  for  "  the  body  of  Christ,  his  Church." 
That  is,  aside  from  any  local  organizations,  there  is  the 
one  indivisible,  imiversal  Church  of  God,  which  has 
these  officers  and  offices,  "  diversities  of  gifts,"  "  dif- 
ferences of  administrations,"  "  healing,"  ''  miracles," 
"  prophecy,"  "  tongues,"  "  apostles,"  "  prophets," 
"  teachers." 

Of  what  local  Church  was  St.  Peter  a  member,  or 
St.  Paul?  In  which  Church  did  God  ''set"  either 
of  them  as  an  apostle  ?  Not  in  a  Church,  but  in 
"  the  Church."  When  our  Saviour  says,  "  Upon 
this  rock  I  will  build  my  Church;"  when  we  are 
told  that  he  is  "  Head  over  all  things  to  the  Church," 


THE   CHURCH  OF  GOD  AND   OF   THE   BIBLE.         7 

and  that  lie  "  loved  the  Church,  and  gave  himself  for 
it,"  • —  we  cannot  think  of  any  local  Cluirch. 

So  we  find  that  the  New  Testament,  equally  with 
the  Old,  presents  to  us  the  Church  of  God  as  one, 
visible,  and  general.  It  is  the  organized  body  of 
God's  friends,  with  whom  he  has  deposited  the  divine 
oracles  and  ordinances,  binding  the  whole  together 
with  certain  truths  and  ceremonials.  Under  all  dis- 
pensations, it  is  the  central  interest  in  that  vast 
movement  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  to  establish  the 
kingdom  of  God  in  this  revolted  world.  What  is  so 
much  the  substance  of  prophecy  and  promise  in  the 
Old  Testament  and  the  New,  and  for  the  accomplish- 
ing of  which  the  government  is  on  his  shoulder,  has 
for  its  germ  this  one  visible,  universal  Church.  It  is 
the  handful  of  corn  in  the  earth  upon  the  top  of  the 
mountains,  whose  fruit  shall  shake  like  Lebanon. 
The  dominion  that  is  to  extend  from  sea  to  sea  is  but 
the  triumphant  going-forth  of  him  who  is  ''  Head 
over  all  things  to  the  Church."  Independent  of  the 
ages,  whether  patriarchal,  prophetic,  or  apostolic,  and 
above  all  dispensations,  as  Abrahamic,  Jewish,  and 
Christian,  there  is  one  pre-eminent,  leading  interest, 
one  ever-growing  organization,  knowing  no  change, 
except  from  glory  to  glory.  It  is  "  the  Church  of 
God,  which  he  hath  purchased  with  liis  own  blood." 

In  such  a  policy  and  movement  for  reconstruction 
in  this  seceded  province,  it  does  not  agree  with  our 
ideas  of  God,  that  he  should  pause  midway,  adopt  a 
new  base-line  of  operations,  and  leave  the  old  corps 
in  his  sacramental  host  to  a  kind  of  disbanding.  The 
grand  army  is  a  unit,  and  has  but  one  "  Captain." 


8       THE  CHURCn  AND  HER  CHILDREN. 

The  Abrahamic  and  the  Christian  divisions  are  parts 
of  one  and  the  same  body.  Those  ancient  worthies 
had  the  same  experiences,  repentings,  trustings,  and 
aims  that  are  common  to  us  under  a  common  Saviour. 
They,  looking  forward,  saw  Christ's  day,  and  were 
glad,  even  as  we,  looking  backward. 

It  is  a  sad  thought  indeed  to  entertain,  even  while 
rejecting  it,  that  their  Church  became  extinct,  their 
plans  obsolete,  and  the  whole  ancient  ecclesiastical 
regime  a  quasi  failure.  Scripture  is  better  than 
theory.  God's  thought  is  one,  and  his  plan  ;  —  it  is 
one  Redeemer,  one  foundation  for  patriarchs  and 
apostles,  and  one  "  Church  of  God."  We  are  mem- 
bers of  the  same  Church  with  those  ''  of  whom  the 
world  was  not  worthy."  Their  Church  records  are 
ours ;  and  their  roll  of  honor  in  the  eleventh  chapter 
of  the  Hebrews  is  ours,  and  yet  open  for  names. 

From  a  very  early  period  we  find  the  Scriptures 
making  mention  of  an  assembly,  party,  congregation, 
or  Church,  as  embracing  those  who  professed  to  be 
on  the  side  of  God.  It  shows  itself  as  a  visible, 
catholic  society,  receiving,  preserving,  and  profes- 
sedly following  the  oracles  of  God  as  a  rule  of  reli- 
gious faith  and  life,  and  as  having  also  the  ordinances 
of  God  in  things  sacred.  This  body  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments  set  forth  as  one  and  the  same.  As 
we  find  it  in  our  day  an  ancient  institution,  so  the 
apostles  found  it  in  their  day.  It  preceded  them  ;  and 
they  were  born  into  its  ordinances,  teachings,  and 
privileges.  The  writers  of  the  New  Testament  speak 
of  it  as  existing  of  old,  and  not  originating  with 
them  or  in  their  time,  in  the  same  way  as  the  writers 


THE  CHURCH  OF   GOD  AND   OF  THE  BIBLE.         9 

of  our  day  refer  to  it.  Opening  the  Bible  anywhere 
this  side  the  middle  of  its  first  book,  we  find  the 
existence  and  organization  of  this  society  assumed 
and  referred  to  as  a  great  religious  fact.  We  read 
on  ;  and  this  fact  accompanies  ns  as  a  living,  augment- 
incr  reality,  full  of  vitality  and  hope  and  prophecy, 
ev^'en  as  a  person.  It  looks  down  the  centuries,  as 
along  the  road  of  its  anticipated  journey.  It  walks 
on  unwearied  between  the  two  rows  of  Israel's  and 
Judah's  kings,  passing  prophets  here  and  there.  It  is 
the  Hamlet  in  the  sacred  drama  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. Malachi  drops  the  curtain ;  and  John  of  the 
wilderness  lifts  it  again ;  and  it  is  the  same  Hamlet  in 
the  New-Testament  drama. 


CHAPTER  II. 

WHEN  WAS  THE  CHUECH  OF  GOD  ORGANIZED? 

'TTT'HEN  did  this  body  receive  an  organic  and 
V  V  visible  form  ?  Many  interesting  questions 
pertaining  to  the  nature  and  constitution  of  the 
Church  of  God  are  involved  in  this  inquiry.  The 
l^rophets  and  patriarchs  have  membership  in  it,  and 
administer  to  it :  the  house  of  Aaron  and  of  Levi 
were  set  apart  for  it  when  it  was  "  the  Church  in  the 
wilderness."  We  go  back  of  tliat  coming-up  of  a 
nation  out  of  Egypt,  even  to  the  time  before  the  Jews 
had  a  nationality,  or  any  man  was  called  a  Jew  ;  and 
we  find  this  society  of  God's  friends  with  its  outlines 
of  faith,  ordinances,  and  worship.  We  trace  it  dis- 
tinctly to  the  times  and  to  the  family  of  Abraham. 
Beyond  him  the  search  is  vain  for  any  organic  man- 
ifestation of  it.  Before  his  time,  indeed,  there  is  to 
be  found  scattered  material  for  a  visible  organization, 
but  only  as  in  frontier  settlements  there  is  sometimes 
material  for  constituting  a  territory,  before  any  Con- 
gressional act  is  passed  enabling  them  to  organize. 

A  constitution  for  the  Church  could,  of  course,  be 
formed  only  by  the  Founder  and  Head,  since  the 
organization  is  divine.  It  was  for  Jiim  to  prescribe 
the  faith,   forms   of  admission,   ordinances,   and  the 

10 


WHEN   WAS   THE  CHURCH  OF  GOD  ORGANIZED?     11 

embracing  border,  that  should  characterize  the  union 
of  his  professed  friends.  As  the  visible  organization 
of  the  Churcli  must  be  of  God,  and  cannot  exist  with- 
out a  covenant,  we  must  ascertain  what  God's  cove- 
nant is,  if  we  would  organize  under  it.  Otherwise, 
though  we  may  form  religious  associations,  we  should 
not  have  a  Church.  Men  may  covenant  to  live  and 
walk  together  for  spiritual  purposes;  but  such  a  body 
is  no  Church,  unless  God  has  been  made  a  party  to 
the  organization  by  the  adoption  of  his  plan  for  the 
Church.  Like  the  pattern  of  the  tabernacle,  it  must 
come  from  the  mount,  and  be  faithfully  followed,  no 
one  adding  to  it  or  taking  from  it. 

It  is  possible  that  the  liberty  men  have  taken  in  form- 
ing local  and  independent  "  churches,"  so  called,  with 
human  limitations  and  specifications,  may  confuse  us 
in  our  attempts  to  discover  the  few  and  simple  outlines 
of  the  original  "  Church  of  God."  In  the  taberna- 
cle that  man  has  pitched,  in  distinction  from  "  the  true 
tabernacle,  which  the  Lord  pitched,"  we  may  possi- 
bly have  been  accustomed  to  some  variations  from 
the  ten  curtains  of  fine-twined  linen,  with  their  loops 
of  blue,  and  taches  of  gold  and  of  brass,  and  the  boards 
of  shittim-wood,  with  their  tenons  and  silver  sockets. 
We  may  have  wrought  in  other  beautiful  fancy 
sketches  than  the  appointed  cherubims  of  cunning 
work. 

In  looking  for  the  constitution  of  God's  Church, 
somewhere  between  the  Exodus  and  the  Deluge,  we 
must  not  expect  to  find  for  a  creed  basis  "  The 
Thirty-nine  Articles,"  nor  "  The  Westminster  Assem- 
bly's Shorter  Catechism,"  nor  yet  any  well-arranged 


12      THE  CHURCH  AND  HER  CHILDREN. 

"  Articles  of  Faith  and  Covenant,"  more  modern  and 
minute,  with  "  By-Laws  and  Regulations  "  and  "  A 
List  of  Officers  and  Members."  We  must  not  pre- 
sume on  finding  parchment  rolls,  and  volumes  of  at- 
tested "  Church  Records,"  unfolding  the  "  Doings  of 
Council,"  and  some  quarrels  and  conferences,  with 
tables  of  admissions,  deaths,  and  removals,  ordinations 
and  contributions,  that  any  scribe  of  the  Abra- 
hamic  or  Mosaic  dispensation  could  overhaul,  tabu- 
late, and  publish.  Very  much  that  pertains  to  the 
Church  of  man  we  must  not  expect  to  see  when  we 
find  the  Church  of  God. 

When,  where,  and  with  whom  did  God  first  consti- 
tute a  visible  and  ecclesiastical  union  of  his  professed 
friends?  The  New  Testament  points  us  at  once  to 
Abraham,  "  who  is  the  father  of  us  all,"  "  the  father 
of  all  them  that  believe." 

Abraham  had  a  piety  pre-eminent  for  his  age  or 
for  any  age.  Existing,  yet  degenerating,  in  his  ances- 
try, it  was  revived  in  him  ;  and  that  God  might  keep 
it  pure,  and  constitute  a  fountain  to  gladden  the 
nations,  he  isolated  the  family  of  Abraham,  separat- 
ing him  from  his  country  and  kindred  and  father's 
house.  While  this  separation  was  taking  place,  and 
before  God  had  made  any  spiritual  promise  to  Abra- 
ham, his  ordinary  piety  showed  itself  with  the  strong 
characteristics  of  an  apostolic  Christian ;  for  he 
builded  his  altars  at  Moreh  and  Beth-el  and  Mamre, 
and  offered  sacrifices  typical  of  Christ.  He  exercised 
saving  faith,  seeing  Christ's  day  and  rejoicing  in  it. 
So  he  received  from  God  justification  by  faith;  and  he 
was  as  truly  established  on  Christ  as  St.  Paul  him- 
self. 


WHEN   WAS   THE   CHURCH   OF   GOD   ORGANIZED?     13 

Moreover,  Abraham  was  a  sheik,  tlie  head  of  a 
"  house,"  or  ''family,"  really  a  tribe,  and  so  large  that 
on  the  occasion  of  rescuing  Lot  he  could  muster  and 
arm  "  trained  servants  born  in  his  house  three  hun- 
dred and  eighteen."  ^  We  may  well  suppose  that 
there  were  many  in  that  wandering  nomad  village  who 
had  the  same  faith  with  their  chief.^  Three  hundred 
and  eighteen  men  of  war  from  the  tribe  "  implies  a 
following  of  more  than  one  thousand  men,  women, 
and  children."^ 

So  large  a  population  under  fair  spiritual  influences 
would  furnish  material  for  a  strong  Church,  especially 
if  it  is  consolidated,  immigrating,  and  colonial,  as  in 
this  case.  The  material  was  abundant  and  good  for 
a  religious  organization  and  manifestation ;  and  God 
used  the  occasion. 

Perhaps  some  have  thought  lightly  of  the  Abra- 
hamic  covenant  and  the  institution  it  sealed,  as  if 
made  with  one  man  only,  and  personal  to  Abraham ; 
but  we  see  that  he  was  a  representative  man,  and  the 
covenant  is  with  a  people  rather  than  a  person.  He 
"pleased  God;"  and  we  are  warranted  in  presuming 
that  he  was  a  religious  index,  as  well  as  sheik,  of  the 
tribe,  and  that  the  body  of  the  people  went  cordially 
into  these  sacred  relations. 

God  entered  into  a  tivofold  covenant  with  Abra- 
ham. Here  it  is  pertinent  to  remark,  that  many  have 
confounded  the  two  parts  of  this  covenant,  and  con- 

1  Gen .  xiv.  14. 

2  Abram  had  trained  them  in  spirittial  tilings,  in  the  service  of 
God,  as  well  as  in  fidelity  to  himself.  See  chap,  xviii.  ID,  and  xxiv. 
12-40,  and  Wordsworth,  in  Lauge,  in  loco. 

3  Murphy's  Genesis. 


14  THE  CHURCH  AND  HEE   CHH^DREN. 

fused  the  worldly  and  spiritual  interests  in  it,  as  if  it 
were  only  one  covenant  made  at  one  time.  By  so 
doing  they  have  obscured  the  foundations  of  the 
Church  in  the  foundations  of  a  nation ;  and,  by  an 
anachronism  of  over  four  hundred  years,  they  have 
made  the  Church  a  part  of  Judaism.  Then,  logically 
from  these  erroneous  premises,  they  sweep  away  the 
Abrahamic  Church  with  the  Jewish  civil  code  and  Mo- 
saic ritual,  in  the  breaking-up  of  the  nation.  So  they 
create  a  necessity  for  a  new  Church  with  the  opening 
of  what  is  only  a  new  dispensation  of  the  old  Church, 
at  the  day  of  the  apostolic  Pentecost.  Let  us  dis- 
criminate between  the  two  elements,  in  what  is 
called  one  covenant,  separated  in  time  by  twenty- 
three  years,  and  define  each :  so  shall  we  see  that 
one  gave  the  Church  and  the  other  a  nation  to  the 
world. 

Abraham  had  piety,  but  no  children.  God  loved 
him  as  a  child,  and  so  purposed  to  give  him  posterity 
and  a  settlement,  as  to  a  family  in  whom  he  delighted 
above  all  the  families  of  the  earth.  So  the  Lord  said 
to  Abraham,  — 

''  Get  thee  out  of  thy  countiy,  and  from  thy  kin- 
dred, and  from  thy  father's  house,  unto  a  land  that  I 
will  show  thee :  and  I  will  make  of  thee  a  great  na- 
tion, and  I  will  bless  thee,  and  make  thy  name  great ; 
and  thou  shalt  be  a  blessing :  and  I  will  bless  them 
that  bless  thee,  and  curse  him  that  curseth  thee :  and 
in  thee  shall  all  families  of  the  earth  be  blessed."  * 

So  Abraham  left  Haran,  and  came,  a  childless  old 
man  and  a  stranger,  into  the  land  of  Canaan.  Then 
4  Gen.  xii.  1-3. 


WHEN   WAS   THE   CHURCH  OF   GOD   ORGANIZED?     15 

God  appeared  the  second  time  to  liim,  and  said, 
"Unto  thy  seed  will  I  give  this  land."^  After  a 
change  of  residence,  and  a  temjiorar}^  flight  to  Egypt 
because  of  famine,  and  a  return  to  Canaan,  we  find 
Abraham  "  very  rich  in  cattle,  in  silver,  and  in  gold." 
Lot,  his  nephew,  had  also  ''  flocks  and  herds  and  tents." 
The  business  and  wealth  of  the  two  being  nomadic, 
they  could  not  profitably  dwell  together.  The  separa- 
tion was  of  the  Lord,  and  placed  Abraham  within  his 
own  promised  land.  Then  the  Lord  said  to  him  the 
third  time:  "Lift  up  now  thine  eyes,  and  look  from 
the  place  where  thou  art  northward,  and  southward, 
and  eastward,  and  westward :  for  all  the  land  which 
thou  seest,  to  thee  will  I  give  it,  and  to  thy  seed  for- 
ever ;  and  I  will  make  thy  seed  as  the  dust  of  the 
earth  :  so  that  if  a  man  can  number  the  dust  of  the 
earth,  then  shall  thy  seed  also  be  numbered.  Arise, 
walk  through  the  land  in  the  length  of  it  and  in  the 
breadth  of  it ;  for  I  will  give  it  unto  thee."  ^ 

All  this,  the  third  promise  of  the  same  thing,  dur- 
ing an  interval  of  four  or  five  years,  is  worldly,  na- 
tional, and  temporal :  it  is  no  further  connected  with 
religion  and  the  interests  of  God's  spiritual  kingdom 
than  in  the  general  verification  of  the  principle  that 
"  godliness  is  profitable  unto  all  things,  having  prom- 
ise of  the  life  that  now  is." 

It  is  true,  a  rich  spiritual  element  was  infused  into 
this  divinely-constituted  nation  ;  and  a  kind  of  antici- 
pation pervaded  it  of  anotlier  body  that  God  was 
about  to  form.  Though  the  first  organization  under 
the  Abrahamic  covenant  was  worldly  and  temporal, 
6  Gen.  xu.  7.  ^  Geu.  xiii.  14-17. 


16  THE  CHURCH  AND   HER   CHILDREN. 

it  was  designed  to  be  such  that  men  beholding  it 
could  sa}^  "  Blessed  is  the  nation  whose  God  is  the 
Lord."  It  was  a  fitting  preface  to  the  great  ecclesias- 
tical work  that  God  was  about  to  inaugurate. 

Some  years  afterward,  Abraham  being  3^et  childless, 
and,  as  we  may  well  suppose,  thoughtful  about  the 
great  promise  of  God,  the  Lord  appeared  to  him  the 
fourth  time,  and  said,  — 

"  Fear  not,  Abram :  I  am  thy  shield,  and  thy  ex- 
ceeding great  reward."  "  And  he  brought  him  forth 
abroad,  and  said.  Look  now  toward  heaven,  and  tell 
the  stars,  if  thou  be  able  to  number  them  :  and  he 
said  unto  him.  So  shall  thy  seed  be.  And  he  be- 
lieved in  the  Lord ;  and  he  counted  it  to  him  for 
righteousness." 

In  this  fourth  interview  with  Abraham,  God  not 
only  renewed  his  promise,  but  he  sealed  it  with  the 
peculiar  ceremonials  of  a  covenant.  "  In  the  same 
day  the  Lord  made  a  covenant  with  Abram,  saying, 
Unto  thy  seed  have  I  given  this  land,  from  the  river 
of  Egypt  unto  the  great  river,  the  river  Euphrates." 
In  the  night-watches  of  Abraham,  between  the 
divided  bodies  of  the  sacrifices,  the  covenant  was 
sealed.'' 

"  The  ceremonial  of  the  covenant  of  old  consisted 
in  the  contracting  parties  passing  between  the  dead 
animals,  with  the  imprecation,  that,  in  case  of  a  breach 
in  the  covenant,  it  might  be  done  to  them  as  to  those 
animals."  ^ 

We  note  here  that  the  narrative  from  this  point 

7  Gen.  XV.  8  'Lans'e,  in  loco. 


WHEN  WAS   THE   CnURCFI  OF   GOD   ORGANIZED?     17 

assumes  the  past  tense,  and  declares  the  matter  so 
long  in  question  as  finished.  "  In  that  same  day  the 
Lord  made  a  covenant,"  a  binding  and  solemn  con- 
clusion.^ When,  in  the  vision,  under  the  "liorror  of 
great  darkness,  "  "  a  burning  lamp  passed  between 
those  pieces  "  of  the  halved  victims,  as  a  symbol  of 
God,  he  ratified  on  his  part  the  covenant  with  Abram. 
He  then  planted  in  promise  the  Jewish  nation,  and  set 
tlie  bounds  of  their  habitation.  He  made  the  covenant 
to  do  this  with  a  godly  man,  and  because  he  was  godly ; 
but  the  arrangement  had  not  a  directly  spiritual  char- 
acter and  scope.  It  was  national,  civil,  and  geograph- 
ical, yet  spiritualized  and  interpenetrated  by  a  reli- 
gious element,  as  ever}^  nation  should  be ;  and  the  com- 
forting addition  is  made  to  the  promise,  that  blessings 
shall  come  on  other  nations  through  this  one  that  God 
is  now  founding  in  Abram.  "  In  thee  shall  all  fami- 
lies of  the  earth  be  blessed."  As  a  pioneer  in  letters, 
civilization,  the  arts,  commerce,  and  a  pure  religion, 
the  Jewish  nation  proved  this  to  be  true.  So  the 
first  part  of  the  Abrahamic  Covenant,  so  called,  was 
framed  and  assented  unto  by  a  sacrificial  pledge.  "  In 
that  instant  the  covenant  was  solemnly  completed. 
Its  primary  form  of  benefit  is  the  grant  of  the 
promised  land,  with  the  extensive  boundaries  of 
Egypt  and  the  Euphrates."  ^^ 

We  pass  now  to  consider  the  second  part  of  this 
covenant.  From  the  time  of  the  opening  proposals 
of  the  first   to    those    of  the   second  part,  is   about 

9  "  My  covenant  wliich  I  have    already  purposed  and  foruially 
closed."  — Murphy,  Gen.  xvii.  2. 

10  Murphy,  in  loco. 

2* 


18  THE  CHURCH  AND   HER   CHH^DREN. 

twenty-three  5^ears.  After  the  ratification  of  the 
first  part,  there  is  an  interval  of  about  fifteen  years, 
when  God  appears  to  Abram  with  new  promises,  and 
of  spiritual  blessings  and  rehitions.  During  these 
intervening  years  the  piety  of  Abram  has  been  suc- 
cessfully tested  and  developed  in  worldly  prosperity ; 
and  now  God  is  ready  to  take  him  out  of  the  narrow 
circle  of  personal  and  family  and  mere  national 
interests,  and  connect  him  with  a  scheme  of  univer- 
sal spiritual  blessing.  And  those  who  have  been 
accustomed  to  regard  the  Jewish  nation  and  the 
Church  of  God  as  beginning  at  the  same  time,  hav- 
ing the  same  scope  and  borders,  and  breaking  up 
together,  as  practically  one  and  the  same  body,  should 
note  carefully  the  historical  facts  of  this  period  in 
the  documents,  and  their  chronological  order  and 
^paces  of  time.  It  will  probably  appear  to  such,  that 
this  second  part  is  of  the  nature  of  an  appendix,  a 
supplement,  or  codicil.  ^^ 

''When  Abram  was  ninety  years  old  and  nine,  the 
Lord  appeared  to  Abram,  and  said  unto  him,  I  am 
the  Almighty  God ;  walk  before  me,  and  be  thou  per- 
fect ;  and  I  will  make  my  covenant  between  me  and 
thee,  and  will  multiply  thee  exceedingly.  .  .  .  And 
thou  shalt  be  a  father  of  many  nations.  Neither 
shall  thy  name  any  more  be  called  Abram,  but  thy 
name  shall  be  Abraham ;  for  a  father  of  many  nations 
have  I  made  thee.     And  I  will  make  thee  exceed- 


11  "  The  present  form  of  the  covenant  is  not  identical  with  the 
former.  That  referred  chiefly  to  the  land,  this  chiefly  to  the  sea. 
That  dwelt  mucli  on  temporal  things  :  this  rises  to  spiritual  things." 
MuKPHY,  in  loco. 


WHEN  WAS   THE   CHURCH  OF   GOD   ORGANIZED?     19 

iiig  fruitful,  and  I  will  make  nations  of  thee,  and 
kings  shall  come  out  of  tiiee.  And  I  will  establish 
my  covenant  between  me  and  thee,  and  tliy  seed 
after  thee  in  their  generations,  for  an  everlasting 
covenant,  to  be  a  God  unto  thee,  and  to  thy  seed 
after  thee.  And  I  will  give  unto  thee,  and  to  thy 
seed  after  thee,  the  land  wherein  thou  art  a  stranger, 
all  the  land  of  Canaan,  for  an  everlasting  possession  ; 
and  I  will  be  their  God.  And  God  said  unto  Abra- 
ham, Thou  shalt  keep  my  covenant,  therefore,  thou, 
and  thy  seed  after  thee  in  their  generations.  This 
is  my  covenant,  which  ye  shall  keep,  between  me 
and  you  and  thy  seed  after  thee  :  Every  man-child 
among  you  shall  be  circumcised.  And  ye  shall  cir- 
cumcise the  flesh  of  your  foreskin ;  and  it  shall  be  a 
token  of  the  covenant  betwixt  me  and  you.  And  he 
that  is  eight  days  old  shall  be  circumcised  among 
you,  every  man-child  in  your  generations ;  he  that 
is  born  in  the  house,  or  bought  with  money  of  any 
stranger,  which  is  not  of  thy  seed."  ^^ 

In  this  second  part  of  the  covenant,  there  is,  quite 
naturally,  an  allusion  to  the  first,  and  a  re-affirmation 
of  it,  lest  the  second  might  seem  to  abrogate,  super- 
sede, or  essentially  qualify  the  first.  The  second  part 
is  not  an  added  assurance  of  personal  salvation  ;  for 
that  had  been  settled  many  years  before,  when 
Abram  "  l)elieved  in  the  Lord,  and  he  counted  it  to 
him  for  righteousn'ess."  It  is  not  an  addition  per- 
taining to  the  worldly  settlement  and  prosperity  of 
Abraham  and  his  family  and  posterity  ;  for  all  those 

12  Gen.  xvii.  1-13. 


20  THE  CHURCH  AND   HER   CHH^DREN. 

arrano:ements  had  been  determined  and  concluded  in 
the  first  part  of  the  covenant,  entered  into  when  he 
was  more  than  a  score  of  years  younger. 

We  mark  the  first  item  in  the  addition  in  the 
words:  "  I  will  make  thee  a  father  of  many  nations." 
St.  Paul  explains  this  as  meaning  that  he  should  be 
"  the  father  of  all  them  that  believe."  "  The  prom- 
ise that  he  should  be  the  heir  of  the  world  was  not 
to  Abraham  or  to  his  seed,  through  the  law,  but 
through  the  righteousness  of  faith."  When  any 
nation  became  a  nation  of  believers,  it  would  be 
counted  as  the  seed  of  Abraham  ;  and  when  many 
nations  believed,  as  the  English,  the  French,  the  Ger- 
man, the  American,  he  would  be  "  a  fatlier  of  many 
nations "  in  the  spiritual  sense  and  import  of  this 
part  of  the  covenant.  So  St.  Paul  speaks  to  the 
Roman  Christians  of  Abraham  as  ''  the  father  of  us 
all."  St.  Paul  had  only  Jewish  blood,  while  many 
of  those  Romans  had  Gentile  blood  in  their  veins ; 
and  yet  the  apostle  makes  it  out  that  they  and  he 
have  one  father.  This  shows  conclusively  that  the 
paternity  in  the  promise  is  spiritual,  and  not  carnal. 
The  "seed"  of  Abraham  was  to  be  believers. 
"  They  which  are  of  faith,  the  same  are  the  children 
of  Abraham." 

"  If  ye  were  Abraham's  children,"  says  our  Saviour 
to  those  persecuting  Jews.  He  denies  that  they 
Avere  ;  thus  affirming  that  a  spiritual  seed  was  con- 
templated in  the  Abrahamic  covenant,  and  not  a 
physical. 

Having  promised  such  a  seed  to  Abraham,  so 
spiritual  and  so  extensive,  God  now  promises  further 


WHEN   WAS   THE  CHURCH   OF   GOD   ORGANIZED?     21 

"•  to  be  a  God  unto  thee  and  to  thy  seed  after  tliee." 
As  the  seed  is  spiritual,  this  promise  contemphites 
spiritual  relations  and  blessings.  It  rises  above  tem- 
poral favors  and  an  earthly  Canaan,  to  confer  l)less- 
ings  that  can  be  conferred  and  received  only  within 
the  circle  of  faith.  It  extends  to  the  children  of 
Abraham  the  privileges  that  the  believing  only  can 
inherit.  This  provision  surpasses  any  thing  in  the 
first  part  of  the  covenant  as  much  as  the  spiritual  is 
more  than  the  worldly,  and  the  universal  is  more 
than  the  national. 

Again  :  this  second  part  of  the  covenant  differs  from 
and  surpasses  the  first  in  a  specific  provision  for  some 
not  of  the  lineal  descendants  of  Abraham.  The  first 
gave  Canaan  to  the  natural  offspring  alone  of  the 
patriarch  ;  but  the  second  is  more  liberal  and  expan- 
sive. *'  He  that  is  born  in  the  house  or  bouglit  with 
money  of  any  stranger,  which  is  not  thy  seed."  If 
any  should  choose  the  God  and  faith  and  society  of 
Abraham,  they  could  be  admitted  to  share  in  their 
covenant  mercies,  be  they  of  what  nature  they  may. 
Thus  early  did  God  declare  that  the  exclusiveness 
with  which  he  Avas  pleased  to  surround  the  Jews 
was  national,  and  not  spiriftial  ;  and  thus  eaiiy  did  he 
provide  for  that  large  inflowing  of  the  Gentile  world, 
of  which  prophecy  and  our  own  missionary  days  are 
so  full.  This  clause  is  a  practical  denial  of  tlic 
theory  and  somewhat  dominant  notion  that  the 
ancient  Church  was  Jewish.  So  far  as  the  Jews 
made  it  so  in  their  proud,  exclusive,  and  degenerate 
days,  they  did  it  unconstitutionally,  and  by  infraction 
of  the   charter.     To   claim,  therefore,  that  the  Old- 


22      THE  CHUECH  AND  HER  CHILDREN. 

Testament  Church  was  Jewish,  and  so  passed  away 
with  Judaism,  is  to  ignore  its  divine  charter,  and 
indorse  the  prejudices  of  Jewish  bigotry,  by  which 
they  monopolized  universal  foundations  to  provincial 
purposes,  and  narrowed  a  divine  doorway  to  the  en- 
trance of  a  single  nationality. ^^  Nothing  but  unbe- 
lief has  ever  been  a  proper  bar  to  the  door  of  God's 
Church. 

"Not  of  thy  seed."  Note  here  how  grace  refuses 
limits'.  Temporal  favors  can  have  their  bounds : 
"From  the  river  of  Egypt  unto  the  great  river, 
the  river  Euphrates ;  "  and  they  could  be  confined  to 
blood  relations  :  "  Unto  thy  seed  have  I  given  this 
land."  But  spiritual  favors  can  acknowledge  no 
limits  of  kin  or  country.  "Not  of  thy  seed:" 
grace  will  have  the  range  of  the  centuries,  and  the 
sweep  of  the  earth.  "  Not  of  thy  seed :  "  that  is 
the  clause  in  the  divine  charter  of  the  Church,  by 
which  we  Gentiles  come  in  to  be  heirs  with  him 
Avhom  St.  Paul  calls  "  the  heir  of  the  world."  The 
first  part  gave  us  not  even  a  house-lot  in  Canaan ;  the 
second,  all  that  a  child  of  God  ma}^  have. 

It  remains  to  notice  a  fourth  point  of  difference 
between  the  two  parts  of  the  covenant.  Each  had 
its    own    peculiar  seal.      The   first  was  sealed  and 


18  "The  kingdom  of  God  was  not  first  founded  by  Christianity  as 
somethinq;  entirely  new;  bnt  the  original  kingdom  of  God,  of  which 
the  groundwork  already  existed,  was  released  from  its  limitation  to 
a  particular  i)eople  and  its  symbolical  garb :  it  was  transformed  from 
being  a  sensuous  and  external  economy,  to  one  that  was  spiritual 
and  internal ;  and,  no  longer  national,  it  assumed  a  form  that  was 
destined  to  embrace  the  whole  of  mankind." — Neaxder's  Planting 
and  Training  of  tJie  Christian  Church,  B.  VI.  c  i.  §  9. 


WHEN  WAS  THE  CHURCH  OF  GOD  ORGANIZED?     23 

confirmed  by  sacrifice,  the  second  by  circumcis- 
ion. The  civil  and  real-estate  part  was  ratified  to 
Abraham  in  that  "  horror  of  great  darkness  "  which 
settled  over  the  divided  victims.  For  Abraham  had 
said,  ''  Lord  God,  whereby  shall  I  know  tliat  I  shall 
inherit  it  ?  "  And  he  said,  "  Take  me  a  heifer  of  three 
years  old,"  &c.  '^  In  that  same  day  the  Lord  made  a 
covenant  with  Abraham,  sa3nng.  Unto  thy  seed  have 
I  given  this  land.''  ^^ 

That  sealing  of  the  first  part  was  never  to  be  re- 
peated ;  but  the  other  was  to  be  continuous  :  "  Every 
man-child  in  your  generations  shall  be  circumcised 
among  you."  Here  is  a  separate  seal,  and  perpetually 
renewable  in  the  successive  genei-ations  of  believers. 
The  peculiarities  of  the  rite  point  distinctly  and  sin- 
gularly to  the  consecration  of  a  family,  a  race,  a  pos- 
terity. There  is  a  silent  declaration  in  it  that  God 
would  have  a  ''  seed  "  to  serve  him.  So  he  is  par- 
ticular to  say  to  his  servant,  that  it  is  not  simply  a 
seal  of  a  covenant  between  him  and  Abraham,  but 
''  betAveen  me  and  thee,  and  thy  seed  after  thee  in 
their  generations."  And  except  when  introduced 
for  the  first  time  into  a  family,  as  in  the  case  of 
Abraham,  the  consecration  is  not  optional  with  the 
subjects.  It  is  an  adult  and  not  infantile,  a  parental 
and  not  filial  obligation,  to  be  discharged  in  the  rite. 
In  the  apostasy,  the  race  went  out  as  a  family,  and 
became  unclean.  Under  the  restoring  system,  God 
would  bring  them  back  by  families.  When  he  found 
true  faith  wdth  a  proper  doctrinal  and  experimental 

14  Gen.  XV. 


24  THE  CHURCH  AND   HER   CHH^DRBN. 

basis,  as  in  Abraham,  he  would  require  the  consecra- 
tion of  the  parent  and  the  children.  He  would 
make  the  family,  not  the  individual,  the  foundation 
of  his  earthly  kingdom  :  "  Thee  and  thy  seed."  The 
family  comes  in  and  goes  out  on  the  responsibility  of 
adult  years.  The  convert  has  come  to  years  of  dis- 
cretion, and  goes  in  voluntarily,  taking  with  him, 
however,  his  irresponsible  and  unchoosing  children. 
So  he  who  apostatizes  ejects  his  infant  offspring  from 
God's  earthly  kingdom.  They  have  no  option,  and 
are  "  cut  off."  Thus  the  family  in  its  seed  and  gen- 
erations becomes  again  alien  from  God,  as  its  ancestors 
were.  This  is  family  admission  and  family  rejection, 
since  the  covenant  specifies,  "  thy  seed  after  thee." 
A  marked  feature  of  this  second  seal  of  the  second 
part  is  the  regard  it  compels  to  the  posterity  of  the 
believer.  While  circumcision  sealed  Abraham's  cov- 
enant with  God,  it  sealed  his  seed  in  their  genera- 
tions. 

This  sacred  sealing  of  men,  and  setting  them  apart 
from  a  worldly  to  a  divinely-constituted  spiritual 
kingdom,  was  never  before  distinctly  done.  It  was 
not  done  at  any  preceding  time  with  Abraham.  Yet 
that  God  had  such  a  kingdom  in  the  times  of  the 
prophets  and  patriarchs,  all  confess,  as  also  that  it 
was  a  visible  organization  at  the  advent  of  Christ. 
The  prophets  rejoice  in  its  prosperity,  mourn  over  its 
decline,  and  glory  in  its  millennial  prospects.  It  is 
the  spiritual  centre  of  the  Mosaic  religious  system, 
the  Church  in  the  wilderness,  and  the  sacrificing, 
anti-idolatrous  body  in  Egypt.  We  trace  it  back  as 
a  body,  organic    and  manifest,  till  we  come  to   the 


system  inaugurated  by  this  covenant,  and  to  the  so- 
ciety sealed  by  this  rite  ;  and  we  can  trace  it  no 
farther.  The  New  Testament,  by  a  great  variety  of 
allusions,  traces  it  to  the  same  period  and  source.  So 
we  think  that  we  find  here  the  beginning  of  the  visi- 
ble Chul-ch  of  God. 

Indeed,  if  a  covenant  ecclesiastical  was  not  adopted 
at  this  time,  and  a  Church-state  entered  into,  what 
was  the  nature,  design,  or  extent  of  that  second  part 
of  the  Abrahamic  compact?  It  was  spiritual  and 
not  temporal :  its  embracing  line  was  one  of  faith 
and  not  of  blood.  Its  seal  was  to  be  repeated  from 
age  to  age,  on  successive  generations,  long  after  the 
promised  land  was  inherited,  and  the  real-estate 
compact  executed.  The  limits  of  country  assigned  to 
those  thus  covenanted  and  sealed  were  not  ''  from  the 
river  of  Egypt  to  the  great  river,  the  river  Euphrates," 
but  "  from  sea  to  sea,  and  from  the  river  to  the  ends 
of  the  earth."  Its  seal  was  preserved,  and  applied  to 
Jewish  offspring  and  proselytes,  till  the  coming  of 
our  Lord.  It  was,  then,  a  rite  of  initiation  to  what, 
if  not  to  the  Church  of  God?  But  if  the  Church 
of  God,  then  that  body  first  took  human  form  in  the 
Abrahamic  Covenant. 

3 


CHAPTER    III. 

THE   OTHER   THEOEY. 

THERE  is  another  and  an  opposing  theory  as  to 
the  origin  and  constitution  of  the  Church  of 
God.  This  theory  discards  substantially  the  Old  Tes- 
tament as  a  book  of  authority  on  this  topic,  and  leaves 
us  with  the  singular  question  whether  the  Old-Testa- 
ment saints  were  Church-members,  or  could  find  a 
Church  to  join.  We  shall  best  state  the  theory  in  the 
words  of  an  able  exponent  and  advocate  of  it.^ 

He  is  stating  the  "  principles  held  to  be  true  and 
fundamental  by  nearly  all  the  Baptists  in  our  land." 
"  One  of  these  principles  is,  that  the  New  Testament 
is  our  ultimate  authority  in  respect  to  Church  order 
and  action."  *'  We  are  unable  to  discover  in  them 
[the  Old-Testament  Scriptures]  any  proper  model  or 
account  of  a  Christian  Church."  "  The  Jewish  na- 
tion may  indeed  have  been  typical  of  the  spiritual 
Israel  or  kingdom  of  Christ,  just  as  the  Jewish  sac- 
rifices were  typical  of  Christ,  the  Lamb  of  God ;  but 
it  would  be  as  unsafe  to  infer  the  organization  of  a 
Christian  Church  from  the  national  organization  of 
the   Israelites,    as   it   would  have  been  to  infer  the 

1  Close    Communion.      By  Eev.    A.   Horey,  D.D.,  professor  in 
Newton  Theological  Seminary.    (Bib.  Sacra,  xix.  133,  et  seq. ) 
26 


THE  OTHER  THEORY.  27 

manner  of  Christ's  death  from  the  manner  of  shaying 
a  kunb  by  the  Jewish  high-priest."  "  Evidently,  so 
far  as  the  Bible  is  concerned,  we  are  remitted  to 
Christ  and  his  apostles  for  light  on  all  questions  of 
Church  order  and  action."  "  Another  of  these 
principles  is,  that  the  constitution  and  work  of 
Christian  Churches  are  definitely  fixed  by  the  New 
Testament."  ''  To  found  the  Church  was  the  work 
of  Christ  and  his  inspired  followers." 

Speaking  of  the  converts  on  the  day  of  Pentecost, 
he  says:  "These  Christians  were  baptized;  they 
were  under  the  guidance  and  teaching  of  the  apos- 
tles;  they  met  together  almost  daily  for  social 
worship  ;  they  provided  for  their  poor  with  great  lib- 
erality ;  and  they  were  living  in  the  same  city. 
Were  they  not,  then,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  a 
Christian  Church,  —  a  distinct,  organized,  responsi- 
ble body,  prepared  to  act  in  concert  upon  all  matters 
of  discipline  and  common  interest?  If  not,  when 
did  they  become  such  a  body?  A  community  of 
baptized  believers,  under  common  instruction,  and 
imited  in  Avorship,  —  what  is  that  but  a  Church  of 
Christ  ?  " 

These  quotations  are  a  clear  and  ample  statement 
of  the  other  theory  as  to  the  origin  and  constitution 
of  the  Church.  On  such  a  theory  and  assertion  of  it 
we  remark  in  several  particulars. 

a.  It  is  a  violent  division  of  the  Bible  as  a  book  of 
authority.  We  glory,  as  against  the  Papist,  in  the 
saying  of  Chillingworth,  '^  The  Bible,  the  Bible  only, 
is   the   reliu'ion  of   Protestants."     Yet  here,  in  set- 


28      THE  CHUECH  AND  HER  CHILDREN. 

tling  a  "  fundamental  principle "  for  one  of  the 
Christian  denominations,  about  seven-ninths  of  the 
whole  Bible  is  practically  set  aside  as  authority. 

The  question  of  the  beginning,  structure,  growth, 
and  final  conquest  of  the  Church  in  this  world  is  fun- 
damental to  God's  redemptive  economy  for  man.  Im- 
mediately following  the  need  of  a  Redeemer,  Christ 
was  promised  and  manifested ;  and  pre-eminence  was 
given  to  him  in  this  world  as  ''  the  Head  over  all  things 
to  the  Church."  This  headship,  and  to  a  body,  he 
maintains  conspicuously  through  the  Old-Testament 
history.  Why,  then,  should  seven-ninths  of  the 
records  of  this  "body  of  Christ"  be  challenged  and 
set  aside  when  we  come  to  inquire  into  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  body  ?  The  Old  Testament  is  good 
authority  for  the  creed  of  a  Church  :  why  not  for  a 
constitution  ?  "  Whatsoever  things  were  written 
aforetime  were  written  for  our  learning."  We  so 
divide  the  Bible  on  no  other  question  of  a  funda- 
mental kind  ;  and  so  doing  it  here  puts  it  in  the  posi- 
tion of  a  slighted,  overshadowed,  and  divided  wit- 
ness. 

In  the  civic  court,  impeachment  excludes  the  wit- 
ness totall}^  His  testimony  may  not  be  divided,  to 
be  accepted  and  rejected  as  may  serve  a  purpose. 
The  Bible  is  a  divine  unit  among  books,  though  the 
bookbinder  put  it  up  in  two  volumes,  or  the  Bible 
Society  issue  it  in  twenty.  If  going  backward  one 
chapter  from  Matthew  to  Malachi,  fonr  hundred 
and  fifty  years,  takes  us  outside  of  "  ultimate  au- 
thority in  respect  to  Church  order,"  why  should  not 
the    fifteen   hundred  between   Matthew  and  Moses 


THE  OTHER   THEORY.  29 

affect  fatally  the  authority  of  the  latter  on  other 
questions?  Can  the  centuries  between  the  writers, 
or  tlie  bookbinding,  rule  out  or  grade  even  any  of 
the  teachings  of  God's  one  book  ? 

h.  Was  there  no  Church  till  New-Testament 
times  ?  So  the  theory  assumes.  "  To  found  the 
Church  was  the  work  of  Christ  and  his  inspired 
followers."  The  context  confines  this  remark  to  the 
apostolic  age.  This  unchurches  all  the  Old-Testa-  \ 
ment  saints.  They  had  spiritual  relations  to  God  in  ^ 
worship  and  sacrifice  ;  but  they  were  in  no  ecclesi- 
astical state,  as  the  Church  w^as  not  then  founded. 
But  what  did  the  martyr  Stephen  mean  by  "  the  ; 
Church  in  the  wilderness  "  between  Egypt  and  Ca-  ^ 
naan?  What  body  did  our  Lord  have  in  view 
when  he  said,  "  Tell  it  unto  the  Church  ?  "  Were 
not  Elijah  and  David  and  Isaiah  and  Joseph  and 
Mary  and  John  the  Baptist,  communicants  ?  Were 
they  not  professors  of  religion  in  such  sense  and  re- 
lations that  they  would  be  included  to-day  in  any 
proper  invitation  to  the  Lord's  table  ?  Would  our 
notion  of  a  Church  and  our  Form  of  Admission  and 
our  By-Law^s  stand  in  the  way  of  Abraham  and 
Moses  and  Hezekiah  and  Malachi  coming  to  the 
communion?  Would  our  theory,  if  they  should 
now  re-appear,  require  them  to  "  stand  propounded 
two  weeks"  for  admission  to  *'  our"  Church? 

If  Samuel  should  come  to  one  of  these  modern 
*'  Churches,"  with  a  letter  from  Eli  declaring  him  to  be 
in  ''  good  and  regular  standing  "  among  God's  people, 
would  we  subject  him  to  an  examination, subsciiption 
to  our  Confession  of  Faith,  and  a  public  profession  of 

3* 


30  THE  CHURCH  AND   HER   CHILDREN. 

religion  ?  If  all  those  embraced  in  the  glorious  cata 
logue  of  the  eleventh  of  Hebrews,  who  "obtained  a 
good  report  through  faith,"  "  of  whom  the  world  was 
not  worthy,"  should  ask  to  come  to  our  communion, 
would  our  Church  theory  and  snug  conditions  compel 
them  to  a  public  profession  of  religion  ?  As  we  were 
keeping  them  outside  "  our  "  Church,  and  away  from 
"our"  communion,  debating  their  admission,  what 
would  Abraham  and  Sarah  say,  Moses,  David,  and 
Isaiah,  of  "  our  Church  "  ? 

These  simple  suggestions  confront  the  theory  that 
there  was  no  Church  of  God  till  apostolic  times. 
Of  course  the  Church  took  on  a  Christian  face  in  the 
opening  of  Christian  times ;  but  Abraham  would 
recognize  it  as  the  Church  as  readily  as  w^e  would 
recognize  a  new  cast  of  the  American  dollar,  with  a 
few"  more  stars  thrown  on  the  face  of  it.  The  Church 
is  as  clearly  outlined  in  the  Old  Testament  as  are 
the  doctrines  of  the  atonement  and  of  justification 
by  faith.  If  we  cannot  find  "  our "  Church  there, 
perhaps  we  could  find  the  Church  of  God. 

c.  We  find  in  this  theory  the  same  confusing  of 
the  Church  of  God  with  the  Jewish  nation,  that  we 
have  alluded  to  elsewhere  as  a  source  of  many  errors. 
"  It  would  be  as  unsafe  to  infer  the  orcranization  of 
a  Christian  Church  from  the  national  organization 
of  the  Israelites,"  &c.  It  is  strange  that  two  insti- 
tutions so  wide  asunder  in  their  commencement, 
nature,  constitution,  and  design,  should  be  confounded 
into  one.  The  promise  to  found  the  nation  and  the 
promise  to  found  the  Church  were  twenty-three 
years  apart ;  and  the  executions  of  the  two  promises 


THE   OTHER   THEORY.  31 

were  more  than  four  hundred  years  apart,  —  a  time 
sufficient,  it  would  seem,  to  mark  the  two  bodies  as 
separate  organizations.  Either  could  expire  without 
endangering  the  life  of  the  other,  as  a  society  could 
be  a  separate  body  from  its  Church,  and  a  Church  from 
its  society,  and  either  die  without  ending  the  exis- 
tence of  the  other.  The  Jewish  nation,  as  a  civic 
State,  was  simply  a  society  or  parish  for  tlie  Church 
of  God ;  and  for  more  than  four  hundred  years  the 
Church  lived  and  prospered  without  the  parish. 
Indeed,  the  parish  it  was  that  ruined  the  Church,  — 
a  case  not  witliout  parallel  in  later  ecclesiastical  his- 
tory. 

The  Church  was  four  hundred  years  older  than  the 
Jewish  nation ;  yet  men  speak  of  the  Church  as  Jew- 
ish and  Mosaic,  and  passing  away  with  the  nation. 
The  connection  of  the  Church  with  the  nation  was 
incidental  rather  than  organic.  It  was  an  old  and 
independent  body  when  the  nation  grew  up  around 
it  and  secularized  it,  as  a  worldly  parish  will  some- 
times wrap  itself  around  a  godly  Church,  and,  by  its 
formalisms  and  worldliness,  press  the  life  out  of  it. 

So  soon  as  the  incidental  and  restraining  connec- 
tion between  the  Church  and  the  nation  was  broken 
off  by  a  Divine  abandonment  of  the  latter,  and  "  the 
middle  wall  of  partition "  was  broken  down,  the 
Church  enlarged  on  every  side  in  the  full  force  of  her 
Messianic  spirit,  and  in  glorious  fulfilment  -of  lier 
evangelical  prophecies.  The  Pentecostal  ingathering 
of  three  thousand,  whom  the  Lord  added  to  *'  the 
Church,"  was  but  the  first  sheaf  from  the  great  field 
between  which  and  the  reapers  the  worldly  Jewish 


32  THE   CHURCH  AND   HER   CHH^DREN. 

nation  had  been  so  long  standing.  St.  Peter  tells  the 
inquiring  multitude  that  "  this  is  that  which  was 
spoken  by  Joel  the  prophet."  And  to  what  Church 
were  those  multitudes  added,  if  not  to  that  ancient 
Church  of  God,  of  which  Joel  was  a  member,  whose 
glory  and  enlargement  he  anticipated  and  predicted  ? 
The  decline  of  the  nation  is  the  growth  of  the 
Church  ;  and  if  we  would  understand  Abraham  and 
the  New-Testament  references  to  him  and  liis  cove- 
nant, or  if  we  would  understand  God  in  his  ecclesias- 
tical polity  in  this  world,  we  must  keep  a  clear  dis- 
tinction between  the  founding  and  constitution  of  the 
Jewish  nation  and  of  the  Church  of  God. 

d.  A  Church  on  the  new  theory.  *'  A  community 
of  baptized  believers,  under  common  instruction,  and 
united  in  worship,  —  what  is  it  but  a  Church  of 
Christ  ? "  Then,  if  only  the  mode  of  baptism  be 
right,  why  is  not  the  regular  prayer-meeting  of  a 
community  a  Church  ?  why  not  every  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association?  why  not  a  ship's  crew, 
where  all  are  Christians,  and  maintain  common  wor- 
ship ?  Changing  "  baptized  "  to  "  circumcised,"  why 
not  every  synagogue  ?  Is  this  the  body  that  Christ 
founded  ?  Is  this  the  institution  of  which  prophets 
and  apostles  said  so  much,  and  the  centuries  and 
nations  have  heard  so  much?  Is  this  the  insti- 
tution that  has  crowded  and  overthrown  kingdoms, 
and  that,  like  the  stone  cut  out  without  hands,  is 
to  fill  the  earth  ?  Is  this  the  organization,  towering 
above  all  others  in  this  world,  of  whose  starting  and 
going  and  glorious  ending  the  Bible  is  the  history,  — 
"the  Church  of  the  living  God,  the  pillar  and  ground 
of  the  truth?" 


THE  OTHER  THEORY.  33 

Failing  to  recognize  the  grand  outlines  of  a  Divine 
structure  in  the  covenant  with  the  father  of  believers, 
and  three-fourths  of  the  Bible  not  being:  called  to  aid 
in  forming  a  definition,  we  have  only  this  for  the 
Church  of  Christ:  "a  community  of  baptized  be- 
lievers, under  common  instruction,  and  united  in 
worship."  The  definition  lacks  the  presence  and 
power  of  an  entire  Bible ;  it  lacks  a  sweep  through 
the  centuries  commensurate  with  savins:  faith  and 
grace  in  Christ ;  and  it  lacks  full  fellowship  with  '^  the 
general  assembly  and  Church  of  the  first-born." 

What,  then,  is  the  import  of  that  covenant  with 
Abraham,  according  to  this  opposing  theory  ?  We 
give  the  germ  of  au  explanation ;  — 

"  The  locality  of  Messiah  is  fixed  in  a  specified 
family.  Nineteen  centuries  are  yet  to  transpire  be- 
fore his  advent  upon  earth  ;  but  when  he  does  come, 
it  is  of  boundless  importance  that  such  evidence 
shall  surround  him  as  that  it  may  certainly  be  known 
that  he  is  the  very  Christ  promised  to  Abraham. 
Faith  in  Christ  is  a  primary  condition  of  salvation ; 
but  who  can  believe  any  proposition,  unless  its  truth 
is  sustained  by  competent  evidence  ?  The  measures 
adopted  to  identify  Messiah  when  he  shall  appear 
must  be  such  as  are  complete,  and  will  secure  the  end 
promj^tly.  This  is  equally  as  necessary  for  the  Gen- 
tiles as  for  the  Jews ;  since  he  is  alike  the  Redeemer 
of  both,  and  as  much  of  the  former  as  of  the  latter. 
To  secure  fully  this  end,  God  made  three  covenants, 
which  may  now  be  noticed  consecutively  in  the 
order  of  their  occurrence."  "  The  first  of  these  was 
that  which  secured  to  Abraham  and   his  posterity, 


34      THE  CHURCH  AND  HER  CHILDREN. 

as  a  country,  the  land  of  Canaan,"  to  keep  them 
from  mingling  with  other  nations  and  so  obscuring  the 
line  of  descent.  "  A  second  covenant  was  made  with 
Abraham,  —  the  covenant  of  circumcision  .  .  .  twen- 
ty-four years  after  the  original  promise.  .  .  .  All  his 
male  offspring  were  then  necessarily  distinguished 
from  every  other  people,  having  this  covenant  en- 
stamped  in  their  flesh  in  the  beginning  of  life.  Their 
relationship  to  Abraham,  and  therefore  to  the  prom- 
ise that  Messiah  should  come  of  his  family,  could  nev- 
er be  disputed.  .  .  .  Tlie  third  covenant,  having  in 
view  the  same  object  with  the  two  preceding,  —  the 
identification  of  Messiah,  was  that  of  Sinai.  ...  In 
synopsis  it  was  written  upon  two  tables  of  stone,  which 
Paul  called  the  tables  of  the  covenant.  In  its  en- 
larged form  and  with  its  various  ordinances  it  ex- 
tends through  Exodus,  Leviticus,  and  Deuteronomy. 
.  .  .  All  that  was  peculiar  in  these  covenants  con- 
sisted in  their  ordinances,  ceremonies,  and  forms,  all 
of  which  were,  as  we  shall  see,  types  of  better  things 
under  the  gospel.  Their  great  moral  principles  were 
alike,  and  are  necessarily  the  same  under  every 
covenant."  2 

Here  are  three  stupendous  movements :  the  gift 
of  Canaan  to  the  Hebrews  and  their  settlement  in  it, 
the  consecration  of  a  vast  nation  in  their  generations 
for  two  thousand  years  by  circumcision,  and  the 
giving  of  the  Divine  law  as  set  forth  in  three  of  the 
largest  books  of  the  Bible.  Notice  the  magnitude  of 
each  movement.     It  is  more  than  four  hundred  years 

2  Christian  Review  [Baptist],  xix.  590  et  seq. 


THE   OTHER   THEORY.  35 

after  the  promise  of  Canaan  before  the  nation  enters 
it.  They  are  about  five  hundred  years  in  getting  full 
possession  of  it.  They  occupy  it  less  than  three 
hundred,  when  ten  of  the  twelve  tribes  are  taken 
into  a  returnless  and  unknown  captivity.  Tlie  other 
two  tribes  are  saved  with  labor  till  the  appearance  of 
the  Messiah.  During  all  these  twenty  centuries  this 
nation  is  marked,  and,  according  to  the  statement, 
made  distinguishable  from  all  others,  by  a  seal  en- 
stamped  in  the  flesh  of  every  male  child.  A  Divine 
code,  civil,  moral,  social,  and  religious,  is  given  to 
them,  so  minute,  profound,  and  universally  practical, 
that  it  has  both  shaped  and  given  the  best  elements 
to  the  legislation  of  all  the  leading  nations  since  the 
daj^s  of  Sinai.  And,  excepting  the  incorporation  of 
certain  principles  of  immutable  morality  in  the  law, 
these  three  vast  works  were  performed  of  God  that 
the  world  might  be  able  to  *'  identify  Messiah  when 
he  should  come." 

We  submit  that  God  is  wont  to  make  a  point  by 
more  direct  processes.  Such  an  array  of  measures  to 
secure  the  attendance  of  witnesses  savors  too  much  of 
the  complicated  and  expensive  manoeuvres  of  human 
tribunals.  God  hath  not  need  to  use  so  extensive  and 
expensive  a  subpoena  to  secure  evidence.  The  isola- 
tion, the  marking,  and  the  personal  government  of  an 
entire  nation  for  two  thousand  years,  as  it  were  putting 
them  under  bonds  and  keepers  to  appear  as  witnesses, 
at  the  end  of  that  time,  for  "  the  identification  of 
Messiah,"  has  no  congruity  with  God's  sim})le  and 
direct  way  of  doing  things.  We  say  nothing  of  the 
exegetical  difficulties  of  such  an  interpretation  of  the 
covenants. 


36      THE  CHURCH  AND  HER  CHILDREN. 

If,  therefore,  this  explanation  is  the  best  that  can 
be  furnished  to  set  aside  the  common  views  of  the 
Abrahamic  Covenant,  further  argument  would  seem 
needless. 

Is  it,  then,  so  broad  and  so  laborious  a  work  to 
remove  the  ancient  stones  of  Zion  and  prepare  the 
ground  for  a  new  structure  ?  Does  it  cost  so  much  to 
build  a  denomination  ?  And,  among  other  documents 
in  its  corner-stone,  may  not  all  the  Bible  go  in? 
And  at  its  communion  may  not  all  sit  who  haVe  seen 
)  Christ's  day  and  rejoiced,  even  though  some  looked 
as  far  forward  to  it,  as  we  look  backward  to  it  ?  No 
human  theory  must  rob  us  of  this  joy. 

We  are  Church-members  with  the  patriarchs  and 
prophets.  Their  Church-roll  is  ours,  folded  up  in 
the  centuries.  We  sit  beside  Isaiah  at  the  one  un- 
changed communion-table,  and  hear  him  say  it  for 
.  himself  and  ourselves  too,  "  He  was  wounded  for  our 
transgressions :  he  was  bruised  for  our  iniquities." 


CHAPTER   IV. 

THE  ORIGINAL  CREED   OF   THE  CHURCH  OF   GOD. 

THE  substance  of  this  creed  was  in  two  partic- 
ulars :  the  acknowledgment  of  God  and  his 
authority  as  supreme,  and  faith  in  Christ  as  the 
Messiah.  With  Abraham  it  was  saving  faith  in  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Wliile  the  compact  account  of 
the  organization  of  the  visible  Church,  given  in  the 
seventeenth  of  Genesis,  does  not  mark  the  faith  of 
Abraham  so  prominently  as  faith  in  Christ,  the  New 
Testament  shows  beyond  a  question  that  this  was  his 
faith.  The  Saviour  says,  "  Abraham  rejoiced  to  see 
my  day;  and  he  saw  it,  and  was  glad."  ^  In  the 
Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  it  is  said  that  Abraham  saw 
the  promises  of  Christ,  and  was  persuaded  of  them, 
and  embraced  them.^  The  apostle  Paul  tells  the  Ga- 
latians  that  God  preached  the  gospel  unto  Abraham 
when  he  said  to  him,  "  In  thee  shall  all  nations  be 
blessed."  ^  In  his  argument  for  justification  by  faith 
alone,  running  through  the  entire  Epistle  to  the  Ro- 
mans, he  introduces  the  case  of  Abraham  as  a  remark- 
able illustration  of  justification  and  acceptance  by  faith 
in  Christ.     So  St.  Paul  says  that  Abraham  is  called 


1  John  viii.  56.  2  Heb.  xi.  13.  ^  Gal.  iii.  8. 

4  37 


38      THE  CHURCH  AND  HER  CHILDREN. 

"  the  father  of  all  them  that  believe."  *  "  They  which 
are  of  faith,  the  same  are  the  children  of  Abraham."^ 
Of  the  Galatian  Christians,  and  so  by  implication  of 
all  Christians,  he  says,  "  If  ye  be  Christ's,  then  are  ye 
Abraham's  seed,  and  heirs  according  to  the  promise.  ^ 
Here  the  relationship  of  any  Christian  believ^er  in 
the  times  of  the  apostles  to  Abraham  is  marked  as  no 
relationship  of  blood,  but  of  faith  in  Christ.  The 
headship  of  Abraham  to  those  apostolical  Christians 
had  the  apprehension  and  saving  acceptance  of  Christ 
as  its  central  idea.  So  strongly  does  St.  Paul  put 
this  point,  that  he  discards  any  one  as  a  child,  "  Abra- 
ham's seed,"  even  though  of  his  loins  and  blood,  if  he 
had  not  this  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  "  Know 
ye,  therefore,  that  they  which  are  of  faith,  the  same 
are  the  children  of  Abraham."  '' 

Because  they  believed  in  Christ  they  were  Abraham- 
ic  children,  even  though  of  heathen  or  Gentile  stock. 

All  which,  and  we  leave  it  thus  stated  in  summary, 
shows  that  Abraham  believed  in  Christ,  and  so  came 
to  be  called  "  the  father  of  all  them  that  beUeve." 
This  faith,  as  St.  Paul  argues  at  length,  was  the  basis 
of  his  justification,  and  on  which,  as  a  creed-founda- 
tion, God  formed  his  covenant  with  him.  So  was  it 
the  creed-basis  of  the  Church  of  God. 

In  the  mind  of  the  believer  this  article  of  faith 
would  naturally  expand  and  subdivide  itself,  show- 
ing that  it  presupposed  and  implied  a  consciousness 
of  guilt,  sorrow  for  sin,  admission  of  the  just  con- 
demnation  of  the  law,  and  a  humble  looking  unto 

4  Rom.  iv.  11.        s  Gal.  iii.  7.        ^  Gal.  iii.  29.        '  Gal.  iii.  7. 


THE  ORIGINAL  CREED.  39 

Christ  for  deliverance.  We  cannot  allow  for  less 
meaning  in  those  words,  "  Abraham  rejoiced  to  see 
my  day  ;  and  he  saw  it,  and  was  glad."  ^  He  was 
one  of  those  who  "died  in  faith,  not  having  received 
the  promises,  but  having  seen  them  afar  off,  and  was 
persuaded  of  them,  and  embraced  them." 

The  Christian  Church  has  no  broader  and  no  other 
basis  than  this  one  Abrahamic  article.  We  have  ex- 
pansion and  divisions  of  it,  and  varied  statements,  and 
some  things  added  to  it  in  our  local  creeds  for  denom- 
inational and  other  purposes  ;  but,  for  substance  of 
doctrine,  we  confess  in  our  Church-membership  to  the 
same  that  the  father  of  believers  confessed  to  in  his 
Cliurch-membership. 

8  John  viii.  56. 


CHAPTER  V. 

WHO  WERE  ADMITTED   TO  THE   ORIGINAL   CHURCH 
OF  GOD? 

"YXT^HEN  a  father  who  is  an  alien  comes  into  the 
VV  rights  of  citizenship,  his  children  under  age 
are  included  in  the  privileges  and  duties  of  that  citi- 
zenship :  so  ordinaril}^,  in  important  domestic,  social, 
and  civil  compacts,  the  little  children  are  reckoned 
with  the  parents.  This  is  natural  and  reasonable. 
The  constitution  of  the  family  is  such  that  they  must 
be  reckoned  as  an  inseparable  part  of  it,  and  bound 
to  the  head  in  any  good  or  ill  of  any  parental  com- 
pact. This  alone  satisfies  the  parental  heart,  that  in- 
voluntarily binds  up  the  child  in  its  own  expected 
good  or  ill. 

Hence  God  in  his  ancient  covenants  invariably 
included  the  children.  The  children  of  Adam  were 
so  included,  and  suffer  through  his  sin.  God  said  to 
Noah,  "  With  thee  will  I  establish  my  covenant ;  " 
and  so  Noah,  "  moved  with  fear,  prepared  an  ark  to 
the  saviuGf  of  his  house."  When  the  ano-els  would 
deliver  Lot  they  said,  "  Arise,  take  thy  wife  and  thy 
two  daughters,"  and  "  escape  for  thy  life."  So  God 
enjoined  obedience  on  his  ancient  people,  "  that  it 
may  be  well  with  thee,  and  with  thy  children  after 

40 


WHO   WERE  ADMITTED?  41 

thee."  Of  the  children  of  disobedient  parents  he 
says,  "  In  the  iniquities  of  their  fathers  shall  they 
pine  away."  Thus  has  it  ever  been  that  God  has  re- 
garded the  household  as  a  unit. 

In  view  of  this  fact  of  a  oneness  in  the  family  con- 
stitution, and  in  view  of  this  practice  of  God  to 
couple  and  bind  up  the  children  with  the  parents  in 
any  parental  covenant  with  him,  what  should  Ave 
expect  if  God  should  gather  a  Church  of  adult  mem- 
bership ?  Would  there  probably  be  any  specific  and 
encouraging  recognition  of  the  children  of  the  mem- 
bers ?  On  this  point  the  history  of  the  formation  of 
the  Church  is  explicit  and  plain.  "  I  will  establish 
my  covenant  between  me  and  thee,  and  thy  seed  after 
thee."  "  He  that  is  born  in  thy  house,  and  he  that 
is  bought  with  thy  money,  must  needs  be  circumcised." 
For  God's  covenant  constituting  the  Church  required 
that  Abraham  should  receive  "the  siorn  of  circum- 
cision,  a  seal  of  the  righteousness  of  faith  which  he 
had  yet  being  uncircuracised."  ^  So  "  Abraham 
took  Ishmael  his  son,  and  all  that  were  born  in  his 
house,  and  all  that  were  bought  with  his  money, 
every  male  among  the  men  of  Abraham's  house,  and 
circumcised  them  in  the  selfsame  day,  as  God  had 
said  unto  him."  2  This  embraced  all  those  to  whom 
the  believing  head  of  the  family  sustained  the  respon- 
sible relation  of  a  father  or  a  guardian. 

So  afterward,  when  a  proselyte  from  the  Gentiles 
came  into  the  faith  and  Church  of  God's  people,  he 
"  and  all  his  "  received  this  seal.     The  law  reirulatinjr 


o o 


1  Rom.  iv.  11.  2  Gen.  xviL 

4« 


42  THE   CHURCH  AND   HER   CHH^DREN. 

this  run  thus,  "  When  a  stranger  shall  sojourn  with 
thee,  and  will  keep  the  passover  of  the  Lord,  let  all 
^  his  males  be  circumcised;  and  then  let  him  come  near 
and  keep  it.  And  he  shall  be  as  one  that  is  born  in 
the  land."^  This  dedication  of  the  household  was  a 
pre-requisite  to  the  celebration  of  the  passover.  No 
one  came  to  the  communion  in  that  ancient  Church 
who  did  not  at  the  same  time  publicly  dedicate  and 
make  over  his  family  to  God. 

The  females  of  the  household  were  included  with- 
out any  ceremonial  dedication,  according  to  that 
patriarchial  and  Oriental  usage  which  included  the 
females  of  the  family,  without  specification,  in  cove- 
nants and  contracts  made  to  embrace  the  males. 
The  spirit  and  practice  of  those  times  left  woman  com- 
paratively unmentioned ;  yet  in  all  civic,  social,  and 
religious  combinations,  and  organic  actions,  she  was 
most  sacredly  embraced  and  bound  up  by  implication 
and  silent  consent. 

♦  3  Ex.  xiL  48. 


CHAPTER  Vr. 

THE  DOUBLE  BASIS  OF  THE  CHURCH  OF  GOD. 

"TTTE  have  now  unfolded  the  two  fundamental 
»  V  elements  in  the  divine  constitution  of  the 
Church  of  God.  One  is  faith  in  the  Messiah :  the  / 
other  is  household  dedication.  The  adult,  entering 
into  membership,  must  believe  in  a  Redeemer  for  sal- 
vation ;  and  if  he  have  little  children  he  must  dedi- 
cate them  to  God  in  the  Church  ;  indeed,  he  is  pre- 
sumed to  include  them  in  and  with  himself,  when  he 
makes  his  own  dedication. 

In  comparison  with  these  two,  all  other  principles 
were  inferior.  They  guided  to  the  entrance  and 
bore  up  the  portal  to  the  spiritual  house  of  God.  If 
any  one  will  study  the  formation  and  history  of  the 
Church  through  the  Old  Testament,  he  will  be  sur- 
prised to  see  how  these  two  features  mark  the  body 
in  its  inception  and  development.  They  lift  themselves 
up  as  do  the  two  continents  of  the  world,  what  land 
is  left  being  but  islands.  This  ought  not  to  surprise 
any  one  ;  since  the  doctrine  of  redemption  is  the  natu- 
ral and  germinant  centre  of  true  religion,  and  its 
application  most  fitly  begins  with  those  nearest  to  us. 
^loreover,  a  due  inculcation  of  household  religion 
binds  one   over  by  proper  influence  and  obligation, 

43 


44  THE  CHURCH  AND    HER  CHILDREN. 

and,  indeed,  is  a  pledge  that  he  will  feel  his  full 
measure  of  religious  duty  beyond  ;  for  he  who  has 
done  what  he  can  for  his  family  religiously  has 
developed  a  spirit  and  activity  that  will  inevitably 
lead  him  to  do  good  to  all  men  as  he  has  opportunity. 
Hence  we  see  that  these  two  essentials  to  primitive 
Church-membership  have  no  greater  prominence  in 
position  than  they  have  importance  in  substance. 
They  have  a  sweep,  a  compass,  an  aggregating  power. 
They  sum  up  the  faith  and  practice  of  a  profession  of 
religion  very  much  as  the  Saviour  sums  up  the  law 
and  the  prophets  in  two  fundamental  positions. 

They,  therefore,  who  ignore  the  famil}^  in  the  struc- 
ture of  the  Church,  and  so  much  abbreviate  the  origi- 
nal covenant  as  to  clip  off  the  very  significant  clause, 
"  and  thy  seed  after  thee,"  make  an  organic  and 
totally  subversive  change  in  the  constitution  of  the 
body.  They  throw  out  the  main  element  on  which 
God  depended  for  making  his  Church  hereditary ; 
and  they  reduce  the  original  vow  of  dedication  to  a 
tithe  of  its  divinely-measured  import.  The  leading 
field  of  spiritual  culture,  the  family,  that  was  in- 
cluded within  the  divine  fencings  af  the  Church,  and 
while  within  has  special  promises,  and  whose  cultiva- 
tion was  enjoined  with  Divine  commands,  is  by  this 
human  reconstruction  left  outside ;  its  case  is  left 
more  to  human  judgment  and  choice;  and  the  field 
is  worked  as  one  from  which  peculiar  and  covenanted 
blessings  are  now  discarded. 

According  to  the  original  terms  of  admission  to  his 
Church,  God  made  the  additions  by  family  groups. 
The   parent  and  his  children  God  reckoned  as  one. 


THE  DOUBLE  BASIS   OF  THE  CHURCH   OF  GOD.      45 

He  allowed  no  dividing  between  them  when  the  head 
of  the  group  professed  his  faith.  Not  that  the  chil- 
dren would  inevitably  become  believers  savingly,  or 
could  be  made  such  by  the  ceremony  of  admission  ; 
but  in  this  requisition  God  recognized  the  natural  and 
inseparable  oneness  of  the  family.  So  in  taking  the 
head  he  would  not  sever  it  from  the  body.  He  would 
not  fracture  the  unit.  Herein  God  embodies,  as  in 
all  ceremonies  of  his  appointing,  a  great  practical 
truth.  The  analysis  is  this  :  The  child,  as  a  moral 
and  religious  being,  is  a  growth  of  the  household. 
The  material,  the  aliment,  for  this  growth  is  or  may 
be  made  to  be  within  the  famil3^  The  passions,  pre- 
judices, preferences,  and  moral  traits  and  religious 
qualities,  of  the  family  become  the  essentials  in  the 
moral  stature  and  manhood  of  the  child.  So  his  char- 
acter is  or  may  be  of  home  manufacture  ;  and  there- 
fore the  parents  are  held  to  be  responsible  for  it. 

During  the  minor  years,  and  till  this  character  is 
formed,  the  child  has  no  separate  life  for  moral 
growth.  His  life  is  an  unsevered  branch  of  the 
family  tree  ;  and  over  the  future  moral  and  religious 
character  of  the  child  the  parents  exercise  a  foreor- 
daining power.  Ordinarily  this  is  essentially  a  repro- 
duction of  the  character  of  the  parents. 

These  are  truths  of  Scripture,  and  of  common 
observation  and  of  common  sense.  Hence  inlidels 
and  corrupt  men,  in  their  attempts  to  overthrow 
Christianity,  usually  shape  their  policy  to  break  up 
the  family  as  an  institution  of  Christian  society  ;  and 
hence  the  ruin  of  many  fair  youth  in  good  families 
has  begun  by  withdrawing  them  from  those  families, 
and  checkinof  the  force  of  home  influences. 

o 


46  THE  CHURCH   AND   HER   CHH^DREN. 

Viewing  the  parent  and  child  as  thus  naturally  and 
inseparably  connected,  as  to  the  material  and  growth 
of  character,  God  binds  over  the  parent  as  accounta- 
ble for  that  coming  character.  As  the  germinant, 
forming  product  is  under  his  shaping  hand,  and  re- 
ceives from  him  its  resources  for  growth,  God  exacts 
from  him,  in  the  Abrahamic  covenant,  a  pledge  that 
the  child  shall  be  brought  up  for  him. 

It  is  just  at  this  point  that  we  may  see  best  the 
natural  fitness  and  moral  beauty  of  household  conse- 
cration. In  a  profession  of  religion,  and  dedication 
of  himself  to  God,  the  man  dedicates  all  he  is  and  all 
he  has  to  God.  But  nothing  belongs  so  eminently 
and  sacredly  and  exclusively  and  inalienably  to  the 
parent  as  his  child.  In  the  total  dedication  may  he 
keep  the  child  back  ?  Yet  a  part  of  himself  morally, 
how  can  he  do  it  ?  In  such  a  dedication  it  should  be 
remarked,  in  passing,  while  the  full  thought  is  re- 
served for  expansion  in  another  place,  that  in  the 
dedication  the  parent  performs  only  his  own  duty, 
not  the  child's.  The  child  must  dedicate  himself  in 
the  time  and  manner  of  God's  claiming.  No  child's 
duty  is  performed  by  the  parent;  and  no  child's  priv- 
ilege is  cut  off. 

How  fitting,  too,  the  public  dedication  and  seal ! 
His  farm,  shop,  office,  worldly  goods,  and  powers  he 
dedicates  without  specification  or  mark ;  but  these 
are  as  nothing  to  his  child.  Is  that  immortal,  bearing 
the  image  of  God,  worthy  of  no  special  offering? 
God  marks  it  as  fit  for  a  singular  consecration ;  and 
so  he  claims  it  by  a  i^articular  service,  dignifying  the 
child  above  all  the  other  possessions  of  the  man. 


THE  DOUBLE  BASIS   OF   THE  CHURCH  OF   GOD.      47 

It  is  objected  that  there  is  no  utility  in  the  public 
pledge  and  offering  of  a  child.  But,  while  we  put 
public  officers  of  very  ordinary  grade  under  oath  for 
fidelity,  is  there  no  power  in  the  solemn  covenant 
and  oath  that  one  will  train  that  child  for  God? 
Shall  we  exact  a  pledge  for  trifles,  and  deny  one  to 
God,  or  spurn  it  as  unworthy  and  useless,  in  a  work 
that  takes  hold  on  eternity  ?  Put  this  objection  in 
the  mouth  of  Abraham  when  he  is  called  to  dedicate 
Isaac  :  it  is  as  good  for  Abraham  as  for  one  of  us. 

It  is  not  till  we  regard  thus  the  oneness  of  the  family 
in  religious  sentiment  and  destiny,  that  we  see  the  infi- 
nite reasonableness  of  the  divine  requisition  for  house^ 
hold  consecration.  It  satisfies  the  parent  who  would 
bring  his  child  into  the  mercy  himself  is  sharing.  It 
binds  the  parent  to  fidehty  in  duty  by  the  tenderest 
and  strongest  bond  that  God  can  impose.  By  such 
dedication  also  God  constitutes  his  Church,  as  he  did 
in  creation  the  tree  yielding  fruit,  ''  whose  seed  was 
in  itself  after  his  kind  ;  and  God  saw  that  it  was 
good." 


CHAPTER    VII. 

NO  SECOND   CHURCH   OF   GOD. 

AT  this  stage  of  our  inquiries  two  exceedingly 
interesting  questions  arise,  —  whether  God  has 
ever  framed  a  second  Church-constitution  or  a  second 
Church-creed.  It  will  condense  thought  and  econo- 
mize time  to  answer  these  two  questions  at  once  and 
with  one  reply. 

It  is  difficult  to  make  some  persons  understand 
/  that  the  Abrahamic  Chui'ch  was  any  thing  more  than 
a  Jewish  Church.  They  regard  it  as  one  of  the  insti- 
tutions of  Judaism,  beginning  and  passing  away  with 
that  system.  Two  facts  conflict  with  this  notion. 
The  system  of  Judaism  had  its  origin  in  the  giving  of 
the  law,  moral  and  ceremonial,  at  Sinai ;  while  the 
Church,  according  to  the  chronology  of  St.  Paul,  had 
its  origin  four  hundred  and  thirty  years  before.  "  The 
covenant  that  was  confirmed  before  of  God  in  Christ 
[in  regard  to  Christ],  the  law,  wliicli  was  four  hun- 
dred and  thirty  years  after,  cannot  disannul."  ^ 

The  constitution  of  the  Church  was,  therefore,  a 
foundation  laid  anterior  to  the  foundations  of  the 
Jewish  nation,  and  so  need  not,  by  any  necessity  of 

1  Gal.  iii.  17. 
48 


NO  SECOND  CnURCH   OF   GOD.  49 

the  case,  perish  with  those  institutions  tliat  were 
Jewish  and  national. 

Moreover,  the  foundation  for  the  Churcli  was  not 
conterminous  with  the  foundation  of  the  nation  in  its 
extent  or  duration.  In  the  constitution  of  the 
Church  God  says,  "  A  father  of  many  nations  have 
I  made  thee."  ^  ''  In  thy  seed  shall  all  the  nations  of 
the  earth  be  blessed."  ^  This  is  no  national  founda- 
tion, and  so  not  Jewish.  The  range  is  wider  than 
the  Holy  Land,  and  embraces  other  nations  than  the 
Jews.  What  is  that  ''  bringing-in  "  of  the  Gentiles, 
of  which  the  prophets  are  so  full,  but  a  glorious  ad- 
dition to  the  Abrahamic  Church  ?  We  call  Isaiah 
the  evangelical  prophet,  because  he  is  so  full  of  the 
spirit  and  spreading  and  triumph  of  Christianity. 
Was  he  so  exultant  over  the  fall  and  forgetfulness  of 
the  old  Church  of  his  day,  and  the  rise  of  a  new  one 
eight  hundred  years  in  the  future  ? 

Addressing  himself  to  the  one  Church  of  God,  of 
which  he  was  a  member,  he  says,  ''  Gentiles  shall 
come  to  thy  light.  .  .  .  All  they  gather  themselves 
together :  they  come  to  thee.  .  .  .  The  abundance  of 
the  sea  shall  be  converted  to  thee  :  the  forces  of  the 
Gentiles  shall  come  unto  thee.  .  .  .  The  isles  shall 
wait  for  me,  and  the  ships  of  Tarshish.  .  .  .  They 
shall  build  the  old  wastes ;  they  shall  raise  up  the 
former  desolations.  .  .  .  The  Gentiles  shall  see  thy 
righteousness  and  all  kings  tliy  glory.  .  .  .  And  they 
shall  call  them  the  holy  people,  the  redeemed  of  the 
Lord."* 


2  Gen.  xvii.  5.  3  Gen.  xxii.  18.  •*  Isa  Ix.,  Lxi.,  Ixii. 

5 


50  THE   CHURCH  AND   HER   CHILDPwEN. 

So  is  chapter  after  chapter  through  the  prophets  in 
that  glorious  foreshadoAving  of  the  gospel  triumph 
under  the  spiritual  reign  of  Jesus  Christ. 

This  is  no  literal  regathering  of  the  scattered  Jews 
in  the  old  Jerusalem.  It  is  a  spiritual  gathering 
with  the  spiritual  Zion,  the  Church  of  God.  It  is 
the  conquest  of  Christianity  spreading  over  the  earth. 
But  the  address  and  promise  are  to  the  Church  exist- 
ing in  the  times  of  Isaiah  ;  and  that  was  the  Abra- 
hrimic  Church.  It  is  her  light  that  is  to  shine,  her 
border  that  is  to  be  enlarged,  into  her  covenant  and 
sacred  enclosure  that  the  Gentiles  are  to  come.  She 
is  to  be  purified,  enlarged,  and  to  fill  the  earth.  To 
use  the  figure  of  the  apostle,  the  Abrahamic  Church 
is  the  original  olive-tree,  and  the  Gentiles  are  to  be 
grafts.  To  all  of  those  whom  the  prophets  foresaw 
as  coming  in,  St.  Paul  would  speak  as  he  did  to  a 
very  small  part  of  them  at  Ephesus,  *'  Remember 
that  ye,  being  in  time  past  Gentiles,  were  aliens  from 
the  commonweahh  of  Israel,  and  strangers  from  the 
covenants  of  promise.  Now  ye  are  no  more  strangers 
and  foreigners,  but  fellow-citizens  with  the  saints, 
and  of  the  household  of  God."  ^ 

Here  Ave  find  that  certain  Gentiles  Avere  converted 
to  God,  and  then  came  into  a  Church  on  the  profession 
of  their  faitli.  Is  it  a  new  Church  in  which  they 
take  membership  ?  There  should  have  been  one 
then  and  there,  if  ever ;  for  St.  Paul,  Avho  gathered 
and  organized  that  body  of  believers  at  Ephesus,  was 
a  Christian  minister ;  and  those   Avhom   he  received 

s  Eph.  ii 


NO   SECOND   CnUECH   OF  GOD.  61 

into  it  were  converts  to  Christianity.  In  the  open- 
ing of  his  kibors  there  he  preaclied  in  the  syna- 
gogue. ^  As  a  result,  many  of  tliose  devotees  of 
Diana  believed  in  Clnist ;  and,  under  the  directinir 
hand  of  the  apostle,  they  became  the  Church  at 
Ephesus.  Speaking  to  these  Church-members  after- 
ward, he  reminds  them,  that,  as  heathen,  they  were 
once  aliens  and  foreigners  from  the  commonwealth  of 
Israel,  and  strangers  to  God's  covenant,  but  that 
now  they  are  in  a  family,  the  household  of  God 
which  is  his  Church  ;  and,  by  a  singular  combination 
of  terms,  he  goes  on  to  say  that  it  has  the  common 
foundation  of  the  apostles  and  prophets.  This  foun- 
dation of  his  Church  underlies  both,  and  is  older  than 
both. 

Here  is  no  new  body :  it  antedates  the  era  of  the 
prophets.  The  apostle  uses  here  felicitous  terms  as 
if  specially  claiming  and  defending  the  antiquity  of 
the  visible  embodiment  of  the  friends  of  God.  By  a 
common  process  of  spiritual  naturalization  they  have 
obtained  citizenship  in  this  ancient  confederation  of 
God. 

This  Ephesian  case  well  illustrates  all  the  earlier 
Christian  Church  history  of  the  apostolic  times.  As 
fast  as  Gentile  converts  were  made,  they  were  builded 
into  the  old  Abrahamic  structure.  God  did  not  lay 
any  other.  The  original  Church  of  God  continued,  as 
all  agree,  to  apostolic  times ;  and  then  the  apostles 
treated  the  Christian  converts  as  the  inirathering  of 
the    Gentiles,    that    had    been    so    fully    prophesied. 

6  Acts  xviii.  19. 


52      THE  CHURCH  AND  HER  CHILDREN. 

Those  converts  are  tauglit  to  embrace  and  plead  the 
promise  made  to  Abraham,  and  are  associated  with 
him  in  their  ground  of  acceptance.  They  are  as 
truly  made  Church-members  as  Abraham  and  his  seed  ; 
and  St.  Paul  labors  his  argument  to  make  it  clear  that 
they  are  the  children  of  Abraham,  whom  God  in- 
tended by  the  words  of  the  covenant.  Finding  this 
body  of  believers  constituted  on  the  Abrahamic 
phm,  the  apostles  felt  no  need  of  organizing  a  new 
body.  A  better  creed  than  the  Abrahamic  St.  Paul 
could  not  find  ;  and  indeed,  in  many  instances  he 
makes  it  the  height  of  his  argument  to  bring  men  up 
to  the  apprehension  and  acceptance  of  the  faith  of 
Abraham. 

This  ancient,  solitary,jindying  Church  is  the  body 
to  wliich  our  Saviour  refers  when,  speaking  of  an 
offending  brother,  he  says,  "  Tell  it  unto  the  Church." 
St.  Paul  refers  to  the  same  when  he  says,  ''  God 
hath  set  some  in  the  Church,  first  apostles,  secondarily 
prophets,"  and  when  he  speaks  of  Christ  as  "  Head 
over  all  things  to  the  Church."  This  body  had  its 
organization,  as  a  complete  and  already  very  ancient 
institution,  in  the  times  of  our  Saviour's  ministry,  and 
in  the  opening  of  apostolic  labors.  It  existed  before, 
during,  and  after  Judaism.  The  apostles,  as  our 
Saviour,  were  members  of  it ;  and  there  is  no  evi- 
dence that  they  ever  withdrew  from  it.  When  did 
St.  John  or  Peter  or  Paul  join  the  Church?  The 
very  question  dispels  a  multitude  of  assumptions,  and 
starts  a  series  of  questions  and  suggestions,  showing 
in  clearest  manner  the  continuity  of  God's  Church, 
while  its  manifestations  and  administration  were 
changed  in  some  respect. 


NO   SECOND   CHURCH  OF  GOD.  53 

The  only  appearance  of  any  thing  hke  a  new  organi- 
zation is  found  in  those  local  bodies  called  Churches, 
as  in  Antioch,  Corinth,  and  elsewhere;  but  tliereisno 
statement  or  evidence  in  the  New  Testament  that  these 
were  bodies  started  de  novo  as  ignoring  the  ancient 
Church.  As  well  might  it  be  claimed  that  the  starting 
of  a  new  synagogue  anywhere  in  the  Holy  Land,  be- 
fore the  Christian  era,  was  a  discarding  of  the  Jewish 
system  that  had  its  centre  at  Jerusalem.  These 
local  Churches  were  but  fractions  or  parts  of  the  one 
Church.  For  the  personal  and  local  convenience  of 
a  number  of  believers,  separated  from  their  brethren, 
the  management  of  their  religious  affairs,  and  the 
adoption  and  use  of  their  means  of  grace  were  left  in 
their  own  hands.  They  were  little  religious  repub- 
lics, within  and  parts  of  the  one  Church  of  Christ, 
being  to  that  Church  what  towns  are  to  a  county,  or 
counties  to  a  State,  or  synagogues  to  the  Jewish 
system  of  religious  worship,  whose  central  service 
and  head  were  at  Jerusalem.  They  were  ''  branches  " 
of  the  Abrahamic  tree.  Gentile  "  grafts "  in  the 
original  "olive."  Such  local  organizations  sprung 
up  in  a  very  natural  way,  just  as  usage  allowed  the 
Jews  to  form  a  new  synagogue  in  any  village  or 
corner  inconveniently  remote  from  any  already  estab- 
lished, and  where  ten  men  could  be  found  free  from 
daily  lal)or  for  support. 

Theoretically  and  prospectively  the  Church  of  God 
embraces  all  the  human  territory  of  this  world.  It 
is  by  redemption,  and  is  to  become  by  the  conquest 
and  settlements  of  grace,  the  territory  of  the 
Church ;  and  Christ  is  head  over  all  things  in  it  for 


54  THE  CHURCH  AND   HER  CHILDREN. 

the  Church.  An  outh'ne  government  of  the  Church 
extends  over  it,  as  the  constitution  and  government 
of  the  United  States  extend  over  our  vast  territory 
where  as  yet  there  are  no  local  civil  organizations. 
Where  there  are  people  enough  who  wish  it,  Con- 
gress grants  to  them  the  privilege,  through  an  ena- 
bling act,  so  called,  to  form  a  State  government.  But 
that  government  must  be  in  hai-mony  with  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  United  States,  and  only  an  extension 
and  local  development  of  the  old  and  general  gov- 
ernment. 

So  a  new  Church  at  Corinth  or  Canton  is  but  the 
development,  in  a  new  place,  of  the  one  ancient  and 
universal  Church  of  God.  It  must  have  more  than  a 
similarity  to  it.  It  must  have  the  same  creed  basis, 
the  same  theory  of  membership:  it  must  have 
identity  with  it,  as  a  part  of  one  divided  whole.  If 
it  vary  from  the  ancient  Church  enough  to  be  a  new 
body  it  is  not  a  Church,  but  a  human  organization 
of  the  religious  kind.  If  it  exclude  the  ordinance 
I  of  baptism,  or  the  Lord's  Supper,  if  it  exclude 
females,  or  minors,  or  specified  race  or  color  or  social 
grade,  it  may  be  in  some  respects  a  veiy  good  society, 
but  not  a  Church.  God  only  has  constituted  a 
Church;  and  bodies  of  men  become  parts  of  it  by  so 
organizing  as  to  conform  to  the  essential  outlines 
that  the  divine  Founder  has  drawn.  " 


7  "The  Church  of  Christ  is  his  kingdom:  its  constitution  is 
divine,  sacred  in  its  authoritj',  all- wise  and  perfect  in  its  i>lan.  To 
alter  is  to  injure  it;  but  it  is  more:  it  is  to  slight  God's  wisdom,  to 
interfere  with  his  reign."  — American  Baptist  Publication  Society/, 
Tract  No.  191. 


NO   SECOND   CHURCH  OF   GOD.  hb 

One  of  the  very  early  Cliurcli  fatliers,  Cyprian  of 
Carthage,  speaks  so  distinctly  on  the  oneness  of  the 
Church,  that  his  words  should  be  quoted,  because, 
born  about  A.D.  200,  he  was  near  in  time  to  the 
apostolic  conception  of  the  Church,  and  formed  and 
expressed  these  views  before  the  times  when  it  be- 
came so  much  an  interest  for  sects  and  theorists  to 
discover,  if  possible,  the  foundations  of  a  second 
Cliurch  of  God,  or  make  essential  modifications  in 
the  foundations  of  the  first. 

''  The  Church  is  one,  though  she  be  spread  abroad, 
and  multiplies  with  the  increase  of  her  progeny  ;  even 
as  the  sun  has  rays  many,  yet  one  light ;  and'  a  tree 
boughs  many,  yet  its  strength  is  one,  seated  in 
the  deep-lodged  root ;  and  as  many  streams  fiow 
down  from  one  source,  though  a  multiplicity  of  waters 
seems  to  be  diffused  from  the  bountifulness  of  the 
overflowing  abundance,  unity  is  preserved  in  the 
source  itself.  Part  a  ray  of  the  sun  from  its  orl),  and 
its  unity  forbids  this  division  of  light.  Break  a  branch 
from  the  tree  :  once  broken  it  can  bud  no  more.  Cut 
the  stream  from  its  fountain  :  the  remnant  will  be 
dried  up.  Thus  the  Church,  flooded  with  the  light 
of  the  Lord,  puts  forth  her  ra3^s  through  the  whole 
world  with  yet  one  light,  which  is  spread  upon  all 
places,  while  its  unity  is  not  infringed.  She  stretches 
forth  her  branches  over  the  universal  earth  in  the 
robes  of  plenty,  and  pours  abroad  her  beautiful  and 
onward  streams  ;  yet  is  there  one  head,  one  source, 
one  mother,  abundant  in  the  results  of  her  fruitful- 
ness."^ 

8  Cyprian,  Thornton's  Translation.    Library  of  the  Fatliei-s.    Ox- 
ford, 183y. 


5b      THE  CHURCH  AND  HER  CHILDREN. 

There  remains  to  be  produced  an  independent  ar- 
gument in  proof  of  the  oneness  of  the  Abrahamic 
and  apostolical  Church. 

Our  Lord  used  the  word  "  Church  "  but  twice,  so  far 
as  we  know :  "  Upon  this  rock  I  will  build  my 
Church  ;  "  '^  if  he  shall  neglect  to  hear  them,  tell  it 
unto  the  Church."  Here  is  a  reference  to  a  body, 
but  without  any  definition  or  explanation  of  it.  Its 
origin,  nature,  and  constitution  are  silently  passed 
over.  Two  things  only  are  said  of  the  body  :  its 
creed-basis  is  declared  to  be  confession  of  Christ ;  and 
one  of  its  offices  is  disciplinary.  These  two  things 
are  said  incidentally,  more  than  for  information  as 
something  new.  The  allusions  of  Christ  to  the  Church 
are  evidently  to  a  body  already  existing,  recognized, 
and  well  understood.  No  new  organization,  just  pro- 
posed or  springing  up,  would  be  so  referred  to.  As 
we  pass  along  into  and  through  the  New  Testament, 
the  word  "  Church"  appears  as  naturally  and  freely  and 
without  definition, as  the  word  " synagogue  " or"  Jeri- 
cho "or  "  temple."  No  novelty,  innovation,  or  obscurity 
seems  to  pertain  to  it.  Both  the  name  and  the  insti- 
tution are  evidently  old  and  familiar  to  the  disciples 
and  apostles,  and  to  their  hearers,  and  to  the  readers 
of  that  day.  What  is  the  explanation  ?  A  very 
simple  one,  and  for  us,  in  unfolding  this  topic,  full  of 
information  and  su^csfestion. 

The  disciples  and  the  apostles,  and  the  devout  of 
their  times,  had  the  Septuagint  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment in  common  use.  They  quoted  from  it  generally, 
instead  of  quoting  from  the  original  Hebrew  :  so 
they  had  become  familiar  with  the  word  ecclesia.    The 


NO   SECOND   CHURCH   OF  GOD.  57 

institution  itself  they  were  members  of,  and  knew 
well;  and  this  was  the  name  by  which  they  had  l)e- 
come  accustomed  to  call  it,  when  they  did  not  (rive  it 
its  old  Hebrew  name.  The  word  came  into  the  Sep- 
tuagint,  and  so  into  common  use  in  Judtea,  before  the 
times  of  our  Lord,  and  in  this  way  :  — 

When  those  Septuagint  translators,  in  turning  the 
Hebrew  Scriptures  into  Greek  about  B.  C.  280, 
sought  for  a  Greek  word  equivalent  to  the  Hebrew 
name  of  the  Church,  they  took  ecdesia.  This  is 
classic  Greek,  and  at  Athens  or  any  free  city  of 
Greece  designated  a  meeting  of  the  voters,  legally 
called,  for  the  transaction  of  public  business.  Such 
a  word  was  admirably  adapted,  they  thought,  to  con- 
vey to  their  readers  the  idea  of  the  Abrahamic 
Church,  as  a  body  composed  in  an  orderly  way,  with 
a  constitution,  qualifications  and  processes  for  mem- 
bership, and  with  legislative  and  executive  powers. 
The  Hebrew  word  for  Church,  Kah-hahl,  the  Septua- 
gint  translators  have,  though  not  with  perfect  uni- 
formity, rendered  ecdesia,  in  all  about  seventy 
times. 

When,  therefore,  in  New-Testament  Greek,  the 
word  ecdesia  was  used,  the  mind  of  the  speaker, 
hearer,  or  reader  would  revert  at  once  to  the  ancient 
Church  of  God, 

When  our  Lord  used  the  word  those  two  times,  it 
was  inevitable  that  his  hearers  would  apply  his  allu- 
sion to  that  holy  and  divinely  constituted  body  of 
which  they  were  members.  In  view  of  the  way  by 
which  ecdesia  had  become  a  well-known  and  well-de- 
fined word  among  them,  any  other  understanding  of 


58      THE  CHUECH  AND  HER  CHILDREN. 

the  Saviour's  allusion  would  have  been  impossible  and 
absurd. 

So,  while  the  apostles,  following  our  Lord's  exam- 
ple, changed  the  name  from  Hebrew  to  Greek,  from 
Kah-hahl  to  ecdesia,  the  thing  named,  the  oneness  of 
the  body,  remained.  It  passed  along  down  the  ages 
as  unchanged  as  the  foundation-faith  on  which  it 
rested,  —  the  Rock  Christ,  the  same  to  Abraham  and 
Isaiah  and  Peter  and  Edwards. 

With  that  word  ecdesia  thus  coming  into  apostolic 
and  New-Testament  use,  what  shadow  of  evidence  is 
there  that  a  new  body  was  organized,  crowded  into 
notice  and  use,  and  made  to  assume  this  ancient  and 
familiar  name,  and  all  without  the  least  explanation 
of  the  innovation,  or  allusion  to  it,  or  Jewish  preju- 
dice and  protest  against  it  ?  Several  delicate  and 
difficult  questions  arose  between  Jewish  and  Gentile 
converts  in  the  first  Christian  Churches ;  and  the 
epistles  show  how  the  apostles  met  them.  If  an  old 
Jewish  Church  was  crowded  out,  and  a  new  one 
brought  in  its  place,  is  it  not  a  very  strange  thing  that 
no  controversy  between  Jewish  and  Gentile  Christians 
arose  over  the  change,  and  left  some  traces  of  itself  in 
the  apostolic  epistles  ?  So  great  an  innovation  or  rev- 
olution as  the  blotting-out  of  the  Church  of  Abraham 
and  Moses  and  David  and  Malachi  must  have  pro- 
duced some  cases  for  apostolic  arbitration  in  those 
early  Christian  ecclesias.  Some  record  must  have 
been  made  of  so  great  a  change.  No  record  being 
found,  or  any  allusion  to  it,  is  presumptive  and 
almost  positive  evidence  that  there  was  no  change 
to  be  recorded. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

CIRCUMCISION   AND  BAPTISM  SERVE  THE   SA:ME   END. 

THE  outward  or  temporal  manifestations  of  the 
Church  liave  varied  with    the  varying  circum- 
stances of  God's  people. 

Prior  to  their  going  into  Egypt  it  had  pliases  un- 
like what  it  sliowed  in  Egypt,  and  still  different  in 
their  desert  wanderinors   toward    Canaan.     When  it 

o 

became  united  with  the  state  by  the  laws  of  Sinai  and 
the  Mosaic  institutes  it  received  some  modifications 
in  its  externals.  So  it  was  when  Israel  passed  from 
a  theocracy  to  be  governed  by  kings. 

When  the  temple  was  dedicated,  and  the  temple 
service  inaugurated,  it  underwent  still  other  changes 
in  its  outward  and  ceremonial  management.  So  dur- 
ing the  captivity  and  after  the  restoration.  And  on 
the  advent,  crucifixion,  and  ascension  of  our  Lord, 
many  and  most  significant  changes  were  wrought  in 
it. 

Still  for  substance  the  Church  was  the  same  on  the 
day  of  Pentecost  that  it  was  in  the  days  of  Abraham. 
None  of  the  changes  in  it  had  been  radical,  or  affoctt'd 
its  organic  structure. 

We  have  already  noticed  the  fact  that  eircunici-sion 
was  the  first  sign  and  seal  of  admission.     We  pass 

59 


60  THE  CHURCH  AND   HER   CHH^DREN. 

now  to  consider  the  fact  that  ch'cumcision  and  bap- 
tism have  the  same  office  and  import.  We  will  not, 
under  this  point,  agitate  the  question  whether  bap- 
tism became  a  substitute  for  circumcision,  or  in  any- 
way took  its  place  ;  nor  yet  the  question  whether 
baptism  was  appHed  to  households  by  the  apostles,  as . 
circumcision  was  in  times  earlier  than  the  apostolic. 
We  will  notice  simply  and  only  the  fact  that  cir- 
cumcision and  baptism  served  equally  and  the  same 
purpose  of  admitting  the  subject  of  the  ordinance  to 
membership  in  the  Church  of  God. 

Abraham  saw  Christ's  day,  believed  in  Christ,  was 
justified  through  that  faith,  made  a  public  profession  of 
it,  and  then  "  received  the  sign  of  circumcision  "  as  a 
visible  mark  of  the  covenant  between  himself  and  God. 
It  was  a  "  seal,"  an  official  stamp,  as  on  a  government 
treaty  or  contract.  It  was  the  official  seal  of  God  to 
the  agreement  between  him  and  Abraham,  in  which 
Abraham  through  faith  in  Christ  had  given  himself 
away  to  God,  and  God  on  his  part  had  accepted  the 
offering,  and  on  the  ground  of  his  faith  in  Christ  had 
justified  him  and  made  him  the  heir  of  special  prom- 
ises. This  act  brought  Abraham,  and  every  other  one 
who  performed  it  after  the  manner  of  Abraham,  into 
the  Church  of  God.  This  was  the  one  and  only  door 
to  membership  in  that  ancient  Church ;  and  this  was 
the  only  sign  and  seal. 

Now,  let  it  be  noted  that  in  the  times,  and  accord- 
ing to  the  teachings,  of  the  apostles,  the  import  of 
the  covenant  between  God  and  his  child  was  the 
same  as  in  the  times  of  Abraham  :  that  is,  on  the  part 
of  man  it  was  belief  in  Christ ;  and  on  the  part  of  God 


CIRCUMCISION  AND   BAPTISM.  •   Gl 

it  was  justification  by  this  belief  or  faith.  This 
is  one  of  the  most  obvious  truths  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment. When  a  man  was  ready  sincerely  to  confess 
such  a  faith,  and  liumbly  to  receive  such  a  justifica- 
tion, he  was  ready  to  make  a  public  profession  of 
religion. 

This  was  precisely  the  state  of  mind  in  which  the 
apostles  found  those  three  thousand  on  the  day  of 
Pentecost.  They  wished  publicly  to  own  this  cove- 
nant with  God.  They  wished  to  add  themselves  to 
the  covenant  people  of  God.  They  did  this.  ''  They 
that  gladly  received  his  word  were  baptized."  The 
covenant  thus  publicly  made  was  signed  and  sealed 
by  baptism.  At  the  very  point  and  for  the  very  , 
service  where  circumcision  was  formerly  introduced 
baptism  now  comes  in. 

If  any  of  these  three  thousand  had,  as  Gentiles,  thus 
believed  in  Christ  in  the  days  of  Abraham  or  Jacob 
or  David  or  Malachi,  and  made  a  public  profession  of 
religion,  the  sign  and  seal  would  have  been  circum- 
cision :  now  it  is  baptism.  Each  ceremony,  therefore, 
has  the  same  import,  and  fills  the  same  office.  As  an 
introductory  rite  to  the  Church  of  God,  each  per- 
formed the  same  service.  The  difference  in  the  form 
of  the  rites  constituted  no  difference  in  their  sub- 
stance and  efficiency.  Each  did  the  same  thing  for 
the  person  receiving  the  rite. 

We  find,  therefore,  that  the  Church  of  God   was 
one  and  the  same  in  the  times  of  St.  Peter  and  of  the 
jmtriarchs ;    that   admission    to   it    was  through    tlie , 
confession  of  saving  faith  in  Jesus  Christ ;  that  this  ' 
confession  by  the  head  of  the  family  brought  the  liouse- 
G 


62  THE  CHURCH  AND   HER  CHH^DREN. 

hold  into  membership ;  that  circumcision  was  tlie  sign 
and  seal  of  the  covenant  thus  made  ;  and  that  in  the 
times  of  the  apostles  baptism  was  used  as  having  the 
same  import  and  performing  the  same  service  for 
the  subject  as  circumcision. 

At  this  point  in  our  inquiries  concerning  the  con- 
stitution of  the  Church  of  God,  and  admissions  to  it, 
another  interesting  fact  arises :  circumcision  disap- 
pears, and  baptism  appears. 

We  first  direct  attention  to  this  as  a  simple  fact, 
lying  up  on  the  surface  of  the  New  Testament. 
Whether  this  came  about  by  the  command  and  teach- 
ing of  our  Lord,  recorded  or  unrecorded  ;  or  whether 
apostles  brought  about  the  change  by  virtue  of  their 
office,  and  under  the  inspiration  of  God,  —  are  separate 
and  important  points  for  inquiry.  Now,  and  first,  we 
notice  the  fact,  obvious  and  undeniable,  that  the  New 
{Testament  shows  baptism  at  the  door  of  the  Church 
where  the  Old  Testament  shows  circumcision.  The 
former  has  not  only  taken  the  jDlace,  but  is  doing  for 
the  subject  the  work,  of  the  other. 

This  change  and  substitution  of  the  one  for  the 
,  other  was  not  instantaneous,  though  it  Avas  abrupt. 
The  apostles  came  into  the  Church  by  the  rite  of  cir- 
cumcision, but  admitted  members  afterward  by  the 
rite  of  baptism.  About  twenty  years  appear  to  have 
been  consumed  in  workino-  the  chang^e. 

The  first  admissions  to  the  Church  in  connection 
with  baptism  are  those  mentioned  as  taking  place  on 
'  the  day  of  Pentecost.  This  was  A.  D.  33.  Nineteen 
years  afterward,  A.  D.  52,  a  Church  council  is  con- 
vened at  Jerusalem  to  answer  to  the  question,  wheth- 


CIRCUMCISION   AND    BAPTISM.  G3 

er  the  rite  of  civcumcisioii  should  he  enforced  on 
Christians,  many  having  neglected  it  altogether.  The 
unanimous  answer  of  the  Council  is  that  circumcision 
is  not  among  the  things  necessary.  And  when  this 
result  of  council  was  read  to  the  Church  at  Antiocli, 
which  Church  had  called  the  council,  they  rejoiced 
over  it.^  After  this  we  hear  very  little  of  circum- 
cision as  a  rite  of  any  importance,  while  baptism  rises 
to  the  importance  of  an  indispensable  rite  of  admis- 
sion. 

During  this  brief. period  of  twenty  years,  public 
opinion  in  the  Church  is  wholly  changed  on  the  necessity 
of  circumcision  :  the  rite  disappears  from  the  neces- 
sary ordinances  ;  and  another  rite  of  the  same  general, 
import  and  office  is  introduced  and  made  absolutely 
necessary. 

Now,  it  is  to  be  here  noticed  as  a  most  significant 
fact,  that  these  changes  —  the  disuse  of  circumcision, 
and  the  introduction  of  baptism  —  took  place  when 
the  Church  was  under  the  personal  management  of 
the  apostles  themselves.  They  saw  what  was  taking 
place  :  they  assented  to  it,  advised  it,  defended  it,  and 
practised  it.  They  were  the  immediate  pupils  of 
Christ.  They  were  inspired  men  ;  and  they  gave 
doctrines  and  customs,  laws  and  ordinances,  to  the 
Church  with  unquestioned  authority.  As  acting  for 
the  Head  of  the  Church,  and  under  his  plenary  con- 
trol, in  every  official  act,  they  debated  and  decided  in 
council,  they  organized  local  Churches,  and  adminis- 
tered   Church   government.      Therefore    what   they 

1  Acts  XV. 


64      THE  CHURCH  AND  HER  CHILDREN. 

said  and  what  they  did  becomes  to  us  an  "  infallible 
rule  of  faith  and  practice." 

But  it  is  objected  that  there  is  no  command  in  the 
Bible  to  substitute  baptism  for  circumcision. 

In  considering  this  objection,  let  us  narrow  it  to  the 
one  simple  and  naked  point  of  difficulty  raised  by  it, 
—  by  excluding  all  idea  of  the  household,  as  included 
or  not,  in  circumcision  and  baptism, — and  state  the 
objection  thus :  — 

"  Baptism  cannot  be  said  to  take  the  place  of  cir- 
cumcision in  the  adult  believer's  profession  of  religion, 
because  there  is  no  express  command  in  Scripture  for 
this  change." 

It  has  been  shown,  and  is  generally  admitted,  that 
in  an  adult  admission  to  the  Church  the  two  rites  are 
equivalent.  They  have  one  and  the  same  general 
aim,  and  answer  one  and  the  same  general  end.  This 
being  assumed,  we  reply  to  the  objection  :  — 

1.  Many  of  the  instructions  and  commands  of 
Christ  to  his  disciples  were  never  put  on  record. 
"  If  they  should  be  written  every  one,  I  suppose 
that  even  the  world  itself  could  not  contain  the  books 
that  should  be  written."  ^  In  these  unrecorded 
teachings  of  our  Lord  Ave  have  a  right  to  suppose 
that  many  principles  and  practices  were  inculcated  of 
which  we  are  left  in  igrnorance  till  we  discover  them 
taught  and  illustrated  in  the  lives  of  the  apostles. 
Having  taught  the  apostles  so  far  as  he  desired,  and 
being  about  to  leave  them,  he  gave  to  them  authority 
to   act  in   his   name,  assuring   them  that  tlie  Spirit 

2  Joliu  xxi.  25. 


CIRCUMCISION   AND   BAPTISM.  Qb 

should  briiifr  all  thiiiGfs  to  their  remembrance.  To 
this  must  be  added  the  special  grace  of  inspiration,  to 
guide  them  perfectly  in  all  official  teachings  and 
practices.  In  these  facts  is  found  the  reason  why  all 
denominations  of  Christians  receive  without  question- 
ing so  many  truths  and  usages,  set  forth  in  The  Acts 
and  Epistles,  that  are  without  the  warrant  of  any 
special  command.  We  receive  them  on  the  authority 
of  the  apostles,  as  commissioned  of  Christ  and  inspired 
of  God.  As  a  single  illustration,  take  the  govern- 
ment of  the  Church.  It  was  managed  very  different- 
ly after  Christ  from  what  it  was  before  Christ.  We 
derive  our  policy  of  Church  government  from  usage 
set  forth  in  the  book  of  The  Acts  and  in  the  Epistles, 
Avhich  usage  was  introduced  or  sanctioned  by  tlie 
apostles.  But  where  is  their  special  warrant  and 
command  to  work  these  changes  and  introduce  these 
practices  ?  Hence  the  first  reply  to  the  objection : 
it  is  not  necessary  to  find  an  express  command  in 
the  record  of  Scripture  to  substitute  baptism  for  cir- 
cumcision in  order  to  declare  that  the  change  was 
made.  This  and  this  only  it  is  enough  for  us  to  know  : 
that  the  apostles  acted  under  the  authority  of  Christ ; 
and  that  inspiration  guided  them  in  all  the  official 
uses  of  that  authority. 

2.  The  practice  of  an  apostle  in  the  matter  in  ques- 
tion is  as  authoritative  as  the  command  of  Christ. 
Virtually  it  is  nothing  else.  Under  his  commission 
and  the  personal,  plenary  supervision  of  his  inspira- 
tion, what  is  the  practice  of  the  apostle  in  official 
duty  but  an  exponent,  a  reduction  to  use,  of  the 
teachings  of  Christ  ? 

6* 


66  THE  CHURCH  AND   HER  CHH^DREN. 

If  this  be  denied,  then  the  New  Testament,  as  a 
rule  of  faith  and  practice,  must  be  sadly  al)breviated. 
We  put  each  writer  under  a  special  suspicion  ;  we  put 
him  on  a  moral  quarantine,  to  prove  his  veracity  and 
authority,  —  by  demanding  an  express  command  from 
the  Master  for  each  of  his  teachingrs  and  usag^es  in 
the  Church.  To  this  absurdity  does  the  objection 
bring  us. 

But  the  apostles  did  practise  baptism  in  the  place 
of  circumcision.  They  used  it  in  the  same  place,  — 
at  the  door  of  the  Church,  as  of  the  same  import,  and 
for  the  same  end.  The  one  disappeared;  and  the 
other  appeared  as  the  introductory  rite  to  the  Church 
under  their  management,  and  with  both  their  defence 
in  council,  and  their  sanction  in  practice.  This  is 
equivalent  to  a  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord."  Therefore 
we  conclude  that  in  apostolic  times  baptism  became 
a  substitute  for  circumcision  in  the  admission  of 
adults  to  Church  membership. 

In  the  prosecution  of  our  inquiries  we  shall  find 
it  necessary,  as  the  next  step,  to  ascertain,  if  possible, 
when,  how,  and  by  whom  this  change  in  the  initiatory 
rite  was  made. 


CHAPTER  IX 

•     A  REFORMER  IN  JUDiEA. 

HOW  sudden  and  how  strange  liis  first  appear- 
ing !  He  never  had  sat  in  the  councils  of  the 
sanhedrim,  or  made  himself  of  note  in  the  syna- 
gogues. He  was  not  ushered  into  fame  as  the  fa- 
vorite pupil  of  some  Rabbi,  or  the  heir  of  a  far- 
sounding  family  name. 

He  came  without  pedigree  or  trumpet,  even  as  true 
greatness  is  wont  to  come.  So  sudden  in  his  coming, 
as  being  in  the  manhood  of  his  powers  and  of  his 
theme,  he  seemed  as  one  sent  of  God.  His  appear- 
ance was  strange  even  for  that  generation.  A  coarse 
mantle  of  camel's  hair  was  his  robe,  fast  about  him 
with  a  plain  leathern  girdle  ;  and  his  food  was  the 
spontaneous  offering  of  the  desert.  Nor  was  all  this 
affected  and  grotesque,  as  the  trick  of  an  obscure  man 
to  catch  the  gaze  of  a  crowd.  It  was  as  the  re- 
appearance from  the  tomb  of  one  of  the  old  j^rophets. 
It  was  the  manner  as  well  as  the  spirit  and  power  of 
Elias.  As  when  we,  by  sudden  discovery,  bring 
forth  a  painting  of  one  of  the  old  masters,  glorious  in 
the  costume  and  colorings  of  an  elder  and  better  day, 
so  lie  stood  among  the  wondering  multitude. 

But  the  strangeness  of  the  man  and  of  his  manner  is 

67 


68  THE  CHTJECH  AND  HER   CHH^DREN. 

forgotten  in  the  welcome  wonder  of  his  mission.  For 
all  "  the  people  were  in  expectation ;  and  all  men 
mused  in  their  hearts  of  John,  whether  he  were  the 
Christ  or  not."  ^  The  times  were  full  of  this  expec- 
tation of  the  Messiah.  Men  were  studying  promise 
and  prophecy.  They  watched,  and  they  waited. 
And  when  the  prophecy  of  Isaiah  was  answered  in 
"  the  voice  of  one  crying  in  the  wilderness.  Prepare 
ye  the  way  of  the  Lord,"  ^  the  multitude  flocked  to 
the  mysterious  preacher,  as  the  harbinger  of  the  Long- 
Expected.  They  were  eager  to  believe  his  word  that 
The  Christ  was  at  the  door.  They  could  take  decla- 
ration for  proof ;  they  could  leap  all  argument :  so  ear- 
nest were  they  to  receive  God's  promised  and  anointed, 
the  King  of  the  Jews.  National  pride  and  ambition, 
personal  gain  and  worldly  glory,  had  sadly  changed, 
in  their  views  and  expectations,  the  character,  person, 
purpose,  and  work  of  the  coming  Messiah  ;  but  their 
delusions  only  deepened  their  delirium  of  jo}^  when, 
thronging  the  Baptist,  they  heard  from  his  lips  that 
the  Christ  was  at  hand.  And,  if  they  could  but  re- 
ceive the  Messiah  of  their  expectation,  what  prepara- 
tion were  they  not  willing  to  make  !  A  people  always 
so  ready  to  be  carried  away  by  any  great  religious 
truth,  they  heard  with  gladness  that  a  new  dispensa- 
tion in  the  Church  of  God  was  about  to  be  ushered 
in. 

When,  therefore,  the  forerunner  of  our  Lord 
preached  to  them  repentance  for  sin  and  unbelief,  and 
urged  on  them  a  cordial  acceptance  of  their  coming 

I  Luke  iii.  15.  -  Matt.  iii.  3. 


A  reformeu  in  jud.ea.  69 

Lord,  tliey  were  eager  to  seal  their  promises  of 
reform,  ami  bind  themselves  over  in  advance  to  be  obe- 
dient subjects  in  '^  the  kingdom  of  lieaven,"  now  at 
hand  in  a  new  manifestation.  So  there  "  went  out  to 
him  Jerusalem iind  all  Judsea,  and  all  the  region  round 
about  Jordan,  and  were  baptized  of  him  in  Jordan, 
confessing  their  sins."  ^  So  general  was  this  expec- 
tation of  the  Messiah,  and  so  ready  were  they  to  pre- 
pare the  way  of  the  Lord,  that  this  baptism  was 
almost  as  the  baptism  of  the  populace,  so  extensive 
was  it. 

The  import  of  the  rite  is  obvious.  It  was  performed 
on  a  circumcised  people,  the  chosen  of  God.  They 
had  broad  notions  of  discrimination  between  the  clean 
and  the  unclean.  When  Aaron  and  his  sons  were 
consecrated  for  the  priesthood,  they  were  washed  and 
made  clean ;  and  when  Israel  was  about  to  receive 
the  dispensation  of  Moses  and  of  Sinai,  they  were  re- 
quired first  to  wash  and  be  clean.  Baptism  has  the 
import  of  purification  and  dedication ;  and  so  now, 
when  "  Jerusalem  and  all  Judsea  "  are  about  to  receive 
the  Christian  dispensation,  this  rite  is  administered  to 
them  as  purifying  and  preparatory  and  dedicatory. 
Indeed,  we  find  that  their  High  Priest  himself  is  in- 
augurated b}^  the  same  rite  of  consecration  :  so  it  be- 
came him  to  fulfil  all  righteousness  ;  and  so, ''  when  all 
the  people  were  baptized,  it  came  to  pass  that  Jesus 
also  was  baptized." 

This,  then,  was  not  Christian  baptism  :  that  was 
first  administered  a  few  years  afterward  to  those  three 

8  Matt.  iii.  5,  G. 


70      THE  CHURCH  AND  HER  CHILDREN. 

thousand  Christian  converts  on  the  day  of  Pentecost. 
It  was  not  a  baptism  representative  of  "  the  washing 
of  regeneration  ; "  for  some  of  the  subjects  of  it 
thirty  years  afterward  had  "  not  so  much  as  heard 

»  whether  there  be  any  Holy  Ghost ;  "  *  and  then  the 
Master  himself  received  it,  in  whom  it  could  represent 
no  such  regenerating  work. 

It  was  administered  to  Church-members.     It  was 

'a  ceremonial  purification  and  introduction  of  the 
Church  to  a  higher  and  hoher  dispensation.  The 
baptism  of  John  was  a  formal  purification  of  the  peo- 
ple, preparatory  to  tlie  inauguration  of  Christianity. 
He  "  called  upon  his  countrymen  to  prepare  them- 
selves—  by  repentance  for  sin,  and  reception  of  bap- 
tism as  a  symbol  of  a  changed  mood  —  to  enter  into 
the  Messianic  kingdom,  now  on  the  ^^ohit  of  being 
established.''  ^ 

"  An  opinion,  it  appears,  prevailed  among  the  Jews, 
that  Elias,  whose  coming  was  to  precede  that  of  the 
Messiah,  as  also  the  IMessiah  himself,  would  initiate 
their  disciples  by  a  sacred  ablution  ;  and  it  was  there- 
fore necessary,  in  order  to  avoid  giving  the  Jews  any 
pretext  for  doubt  respecting  either  Christ's  authority 
or  functions,  that  both  John  and  himself  should  accom- 
modate themselves  to  this  popular  persuasion."  ^ 

*  Acts  xix.  2. 

6  Giiericke's  Ch.  Hist,,  Shedd's  ed.,  p.  36. 

1*5  Mobheim's  Commentaries,  Miirdook's  ed.,  i.  89. 


T 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE  BAPTISM  OF   JOHN   NO  NOVELTY. 

J^HE  baptism  of  John  does  not  seem  to  have 
-  created,  as  a  ceremony,  any  interest,  as  if  it 
were  a  strange  custom  in  Judaea,  introduced  by  John 
himself.  Indeed,  in  all  the  hostility  to  John  and  his 
work,  there  is  no  accusation  that  he  had  assumed  to 
create  another  sacred  ceremonial ;  and  in  all  the  hos- 
tility of  the  Jews  to  the  Christians,  for  their  innova- 
tions in  religious  teachings  and  rites,  it  is  nowhere 
implied  that  the  Jews  regarded  baptism  as  a  new 
ceremony,  springing  up  with  this  new  sect. 

We  enter,  therefore,  in  this  chapter,  into  an  inquiry 
concerning  Jewish  baptisms  before  the  times  of  John 
the  Baptist. 

The  Jewish  systems  of  religious  and  social  life 
abounded  with  ceremonial  washings  and  purifications. 
These  are  called  in  the  New  Testament  ''  baptisms."  ^ 
Their  use  was  frequent  and  varied,  as  the  Old  Testa- 
ment abundantly  shows.  Any  commentary  on  the 
passages  cited  in  Mark  and  Hebrews  will  make  this 
plain.2 

iMark  ^ii.  4,  BaTrncr/zauc.  Heb.  vi.  2,  BaTTtiO[xuv;  (Jm^potf 
BanTiofxuic;.  ix.  10. 

2  The  Hebrew  Old  Testament  xises  these  words  mainly  to  express 
these  baptisms:  i;2'd  Dau.  iv.  22.      ^?a  2  Kings  v.  U.     Josh.  iii.  15. 

71 


72      THE  CHURCH  AND  HER  CHILDREN. 

There  is  also  a  class  of  passages  where  the  same  act 
is  expressed  by  a  circumlocution,  as  in  Lev.  xi.  32, 
"  It  must  be  put  into  water." 

But  the  different  persons,  things,  and  modes  of  the 
Jewish  baptisms  are  not  so  fully  obvious  on  the  face 
of  the  Hebrew  text,  and  in  its  single  words. 

The  Greek  translation  in  the  Septuagint  casts  much 
light  on  the  line  of  our  present  investigation.  Indeed, 
one  is  at  first  surprised  to  see  how  much  baptism  the 
Seventy  find  in  the  Hebrew  Scriptures. 

This  Greek  version  of  the  Old  Testament  began  to 
be  made  at  Alexandria  about  280  B.C.,  and  was 
perhaps  a  century  in  its  progress  to  completion. 
That  tradition  of  its  origin,  starting  with  Irenseus, 
may  have  some  historical  element  in  it ;  but  the  body 
of  it  is  evidently  of  the  fabulous  and  marvellous.  He 
says  that  Ptolemy  Lagi  wished  to  adorn  his  Alexan- 
drian library  with  a  Greek  copy  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, and  so  asked  the  favor  of  a  translation  of  it 
from  the  Jews  of  Jerusalem.  They  sent  to  the  king 
seventy  of  their  learned  elders,  who,  each  in  a  sepa- 
rate cell,  produced  one  and  the  same  version,  each 
being  identical  with  every  other,  word  for  word. 

In  the  absence  of  all  historic  data  as  to  the  origin 
of  the  Septuagint,  probabilities  must  serve  us,  if  we 
say  any  thing. 

When  the  Jews  returned  from  the  Captivity,  the 
Hebrew  was  almost  an  unknown  tongue  to  the  most 
of  them,  born  and  educated  as  they  had  been   among 

Ruth  ii.  14,  1  Sam.  xiv.  27.  2  Kings  ^^ii.  15.  Job  ix.  31.  Ezek.  xxiii; 
15.  I^v.  iv.  6;  et  al.  ]^np  Ps.  Ixviii.  24.  ;;3Lf  Ps.  ix.  16  ;  Ixix.  3,  35. 
Jea*.  xxxviii.  6.     Lam.  ii.  ix. 


THE  BAPTISM  OF   JOHN   NO   NOVELTY.  73 

the  Chaldeans.  When,  therefore,  the  Scriptures 
were  read  in  the  synagogues  in  Palestine,  they  were 
rendered  and  explained  in  Chaldean.  So  the  Jews 
at  Alexandria,  settling  there  soon  after  the  conquests 
of  Alexander,  must  have  lost  their  knowledge  of  the 
Hebrew,  and  made  Greek  their  vernacular.  Their 
synagogue  readings  and  expoundings  would,  then, 
naturally  come  through  the  Greek  ;  and  so  a  Greek 
version  of  the  Old  Testament  would  be  begun,  ending, 
in  a  century  or  so,  in  an  entire  translation.  The  neces- 
sities of  the  case,  therefore,  in  the  natural  production 
of  a  Greek  translation,  as  well  as  any  business 
request  of  Ptolemy,  must  be  reckoned  in  among  the 
producing  causes  of  the  Septuagint. 

Lonix  before  the  comins:  of  Christ  this  translation 
had  become  widely  known,  and  much  esteemed  and 
used.  It  followed  the  conquests  of  Alexander  and 
the  Grecian  colonies,  and  thus  did  much  to  prepare 
the  Gentiles  for  the  reception  of  Christianity. 

''  Many  of  those  Jews  who  were  assembled  at  Jeru- 
salem on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  from  Asia  Minor,  from 
Africa,  from  Crete  and  Rome,  used  the  Greek  lan- 
guage ;  the  testimonies  to  Christ  from  the  Law  and 
the  Prophets  came  to  them  in  the  words  of  the  Sep- 
tuagint ;  St.  Stephen  probably  quoted  from  it  in  his 
address  to  the  Jews  ;  the  Ethiopian  eunuch  was  read- 
ing the  Septuagint  version  of  Isaiah  in  his  chariot. 
They  who  were  scattered,  abroad  went  forth  into 
many  lands  speaking  of  Clirist  in  Greek,  and  point- 
ing to  the  things  written  of  him  in  the  Greek  version 
of  Moses  and  the  Prophets.  From  Antioch  and 
Alexandria  in  the  East,  to  Rome  and  Massilia  in  the 

7 


74      THE  CHURCH  AND  HER  CHILDREN. 

West,    tlie   voice    of    the   gospel    sounded   forth   in 
Greek."  3 

Of  the  three  hundred  and  fifty  quotations  from  the 
01^  Testament  into  the  New,  all  but  about  fifty  appear 
to  have  been  made  from  the  Septuagint.  Of  course  it 
must  have  had  a  great  influence  in  the  Holy  Land  at 
the  coming  of  Christ  in  shaping  the  religious  opin- 
ions, expectations,  and  observances  of  the  people. 

Yet  this  translation  abounds  with  tlie  "  baptisms  " 
of  St.  Mark,  and  with  the  "  divers  washings''  (bap- 
tisms) of  St.  Paul.  Naaman  '-'  went  down  and 
dipped  himself  (t^aTtxiGaxo^  seven  times  in  Jordan."  * 
Isaiah  is  made  to  say,  "  My  heart  wanders  :  iniquity 
baptizes  me  "  ^  (;J  awfiia  fie  ^amitei).  Judith,  just 
before  she  beheaded  Holofernes,  "  abode  in  the  camp 
three  days,  and  went  out  in  the  night  into  the  valley 
of  Bethulia,  and  washed  herself  in  a  fountain  of 
Avater  by  the  camp  "  ^  (^li^aitxittto  tv  t/j  jtupBu^oU]  tm  xtjg 
TtrijTJg  Tov  vdazog^.  The  son  of  Sirach,  in  one  of  his 
proverbs,  gives  still  further  illustration  on  our  inquiry. 
''  He  that  washeth  himself  after  the  touching  of  a 
dead  body,  if  he  touch  it  again,  what  availeth  his 
washing  ?  " " 

Additional  to  these  cases  of  the  use  of  ^uTtriXco^ 
there  are  about  twenty  passages  where  the  Septua- 
gint translators  have  used  the  word  ^anxco.  The 
friends  of  the  immersion  theory  of  baptism  have 
claimed  that  these  two  words  are  substantially  one, 

3  Smith's  Dictionary  of  the  Bible,  Art.  Septuagint. 

4  2  Kings  V.  14.  ^  isa.  xxi.  4.  6  Judith  xii.  7, 

"^  Ecclus.  xxxiv.    30.      BaTni^o/jsvog  otpo  vsapov  Kai  -kuTuv  dnTOfievo^ 
avToi),  ri  cj(j)e?\.TiO£v  tgj  7\xivrpu  avrov ; 


THE  BAPTISM   OF  JOHN   NO   NOVELTY.  75 

as  a  measure  or  equivalent  each  of  the  otlier. 
Dr.  Carson  approbates  Dr.  Gale's  position,  '*  That 
the  one  is  more  or  less  than  the  other,  as  to  mode  or 
frequency,  is  a  perfectly  groundless  conceit."  ^  ''  The 
two  words  are  nearly  or  quite  synonymous,"  is  the 
position  of  Prof.  Dagg  in  his  ''  Church  Order."  ^ 

For  the  general  purposes  of  this  chapter  it  is  not 
necessary  to  affirm  or  deny  the  correctness,  nice  and 
absolute,  of  these  opinions.  The  Hebrew  language, 
as  an  early  and  simple  tongue,  was  not  affluent  in 
words  of  terminology  for  careful  and  speculative  dis- 
tinctions ;  and  therefore  the  four  words  above  cited 
are  used  move  or  less  as  interchangeable  equivalents 
in  Hebrew.  A  linguist,  in  denominational  contro- 
versy, marks  Grecian  shades  of  distinction  between 
^u7tT(o  and  {ianxClca  ;  and,  running  back,  he  may  find 
corresponding  Hebrew  shades  between  S^tp  and  V^^ : 
but  it  is  very  doubtful  whether  Moses,  David, 
and  Isaiah  would  recognize  and  observe  the  distinc- 
tions in  their  OAvn  writings.  Indeed,  it  might  trouble 
the  translators  of  Ptolemy  Lagi  to  mark  the  more 
delicate  lines  of  meaning  that  led  them  in  several 
cases  to  use  one  of  these  Greek  words  rather  than  the 
other.     This  thought  is  worth  our  dehw  on  it. 

Our  translation  says  of  Naaman  that  he  "  dii)ped 
himself  seven  times  in  Jordan."  The  Septuagint 
says  "he  baptized  himself"  (l^unriaaxo)}^  Yet  where 
in  the  Levitical  law  it  is  said  of  any  article  that 
an  unclean  animal  has  touched,  "  it  must  be  put 
into  water,"  the  Septuagint  says  ti*;  v^mq  l:)acp/^(7ezaiM 

8  Bapt.  Board  Piih.,  ]Sr.3.      9  South.  Bapt.  Piil).,  1«59. 
10  i>  Kiu<rs  V.  U.     li  Lev.  xi.  32. 


76      THE  CHURCH  AND  HER  CHILDREN. 

In  Joshua  we  read  that  "  the  feet  of  the  priests  that 
bare  the  ark  were  dipped  in  the  brim  of  the  water ; " 
wliich  the  Septuagint  renders  t^drpr/cJav.^^  In  the  ac- 
count we  have  of  the  murder  of  Benhadad,  it  is  said 
that  Hazael  "took  a  thick  cloth,  and  dipped  it  in 
water,  and  spread  it  on  his  face,  so  that  he  died." 
The  Seventy  state  it  thus  :  elaps  to  ^axiSuQ  xal  t^awev 
Iv  rq)  vdaziJ^  In  the  account  of  these  four  acts  there 
is  such  a  simihiritj  of  mode,  that  it  is  difficult  to  tell 
how  the  meaning  could  require  two  words  to  express 
it.  The  dipping  of  Naaman,  and  of  the  unclean 
thing,  and  of  the  feet  of  the  priests,  and  of  Hazael's 
thick  cloth,  are  acts  quite  alike,  so  far  as  the  subjects 
of  the  dipping  are  concerned.  Would  not  either 
^aTtxco  or  ^SuTtzi^co  equally  well  express  each  act  ? 

It  is  not  needful  to  extend  criticism  over  each  use 
of  the  two  words  by  the  Greek  translators  of  the 
Hebrew  Scriptures.  Full  references  are  appended 
for  those  wdio  would  examine  every  case.^^  These 
references  are  enough  to  show  that  the  Seventy 
found  much  of  baptism  in  the  Hebrew  Old  Testa- 
ment; and  they  constitute  good  foundation  for  St. 
Mark  to  speak  of  "  baptisms,"  and  for  St.  Paul  to 
speak  of  "  divers  baptisms."  They  were  many  and 
varied. 

When,  therefore,  John  came  baptizing,  there 
I  was  no   need  that   the  act  should  excite  surprise,  or 

12  Josh.  iii.  15.     ^^  2  Kings  viii.  35. 

i^^BaTrn^w:  Isa.  xxi.  4.  2  Kings  v.  14.  Judith  xii.  7.  Ecchis.  xxxiv. 
27.  BuTTTw:  Ex.  xii.  22.  Lev.  xi.  32;  iv.  6,  17;  ix.  9;  xiv.  G,  1(5,  51. 
Num.  xix.  18.  Dent,  xxxiii.  24.  Josh.  iii.  1.5.  Ruth  ii.  14.  1  Sam.  xiv. 
27.  2  Kings  viii.  15.  Johix.  31.  Ps.  Ixviii.  23  (Sept.  Ixvii.  24).  Dan. 
iv.  33;  V.  21. 


THE  BAPTISM  OF  JOHN  NO  NOVELTY.     77 

create  reinaik.  It  Lad  no  novelty  to  a  Jew  :  it  was 
no  innovation.  The  Jews  in  the  times  of  John  the 
Bai)tist  were  familiar  with  it. 

Their  use  of  it,  moreover,  was  evidently  broader 
than  tlie  Septuagint  use  of  the  specific  terms  for  it. 
They  saw  baptisms  in  acts  where  neither  Hebrew  nor 
Greek  writer  expressed  it  in  the  technical  words. 
Their  understanding  of  tlie  Old  Testament,  and  of 
the  customs  of  the  Hebrew  fathers,  led  them  to  see 
baptisms  where  no  lexicon  indicates  them. 

How  else  can  we  accept  the  statement  of  St. 
Paul  ?  —  "I  would  not  that  ye  should  be  ignorant, 
brethren,  how  that  all  our  fathers  were  under  the 
cloud,  and  all  passed  tlirough  the  sea,  and  were  all 
baptized  unto  Moses  in  the  cloud  and  in  the  sea."^^ 

But  the  Hebrew  record  of  that  miraculous  deliver- 
ance of  Israel  makes  no  mention  of  a  baptism  :  the 
Grecian  Seventy  find  no  suggestions  of  a  baptism. 
What  warrant  has  the  apostle  to  use  the  word? 
Whence  has  he  any  intimation  that  there  was  a  bap- 
tism in  the  transaction  at  the  Red  Sea  ? 

St.  Paul  is  not  making  a  quotation,  statement,  or 
translation  of  an  historic  fact.  He  is  expounding, 
interpreting,  a  fact.  He  is  stating  results,  not  the 
physical  modes.  Moses  describes  the  modes,  the 
result  of  which,  the  apostle  says,  was  the  baiotism  of 
all  Israel  unto  Moses.  The  miracle  of  their  deliver- 
ance I)}-  means  of  the  divided  sea  had  begotten  in 
them  a  faith,  a  confidence,  in  Closes,  as  a  leader 
appointed  of  God  and  every  way  to  be  trusted.     It 

1^  Kal  Travreg  dg  rbv  'iAuvar/v  ijSanriaavTo  iv  ry  I'f^eAy  kqI  ev  Ty  'da'kaamj. 
1  Cor.  X.  1,  2. 


78  THE   CHURCH  AND   HER   CHILDREN. 

.  had  brought  them  under  the  influence  and  control  of 
Moses  :  it  had  made  them  over  to  him  as  willing  and 
trusting  followers.  As  an  unorganized,  emigrant  mul- 
titude, distrustful  of  him,  and  in  a  terrible  emergency 
between  the  pursuing  Egyptians  and  the  sea,  God 
interposed  marvellousl}^  The  interposition  was  a 
divine  indorsement  of  Moses,  and  all  Israel  saw  it. 
So   by  this  passage  of  the  sea  they  put  themselves 

'  under  him,  gave  themselves  up  to  him,  to  be  led  and 
ruled  and  converted  into  a  nation.  The  miracle 
wrought  out  their  faith  in  Moses  ;  and  the  result  of 
this  faith,  the  coming  under  the  controlling  influ- 
ence of  Moses,  the  apostle  calls  being  ''  baptized 
unto  Moses."  The  baptism  is  a  resultant  influence. 
It  comes  on  all  Israel  after  the  passage  of  the  sea, 
and  as  an  effect  of  the  passage.  They  were  bap- 
tized into  Moses  by  the  passage. ^^ 

This  case  is  an  instructive  one  :  it  is  a  key  to  a 
storehouse  of  thoughts  on  Jewish  baptisms.  It  shows 
us  how  St.  Paul's  Hebrew  mind  and  studies  had  led 
him  to  see  baptisms  where  there  were  no  modes  or 
technical  statements  of  them.  It  shows  us,  too,  how 
the  scholarly  among  his  own  people  and  the  Gentiles, 
in  the  first  and  early  centuries  of  Christianit}^  were 
able  to  find  so  many  baptisms  in  the  Old  Testament, 
of  which  Hebrew  authors  and  Greek  translators 
make  no  mention.  Calling  attention  to  a  few  of  these 
will   illustrate   the   familiarit}^  of   the    Jewish   mind 

16  Has  the  water  in  this  case  any  thing  to  do  with  the  "haptisni  "  ? 
If  God  had  as  miraculously  delivered  Israel  by  opening  some  detiln 
through  a  mountain  and  leatling  them,  to  safety,  would  they  not 
just  as  fully  have  heen  "all  baptized  unto  Moses"  V 


THE  BAPTISM  OF  JOHN   NO  NOVELTY.  79 

with  baptism  in  the  days  of  John,  and  so  sliow  still 
further  wh}'  his  baptism  of  the  populace  at  Jordan 
did  not  excite  the  interest  of  a  novelty,  or  the  oppo- 
sition of  an  innovation. 


CHAPTER    XL 

JEWISH   BAPTISMS. 

WE  enter  now  into  an  historical  inquiry  as  to 
the  use  the  Jews  made  of  baptism  before  the 
times  of  John  the  Baptist. 

The  entire  fact  may  be  stated  in  a  paragraph. 
The  Jews  were  much  incUned  to  make  converts  from 
among  the  Gentiles.  So  great  was  their  zeal  in  this, 
that  our  Saviour  charged  them  that  they  would 
"  compass  sea  and  land  to  make  one."  When  one 
was  gained  over  to  the  Jewish  system,  he  came  fully 
into  the  privileges  and  obligations  of  a  Jew  by  three 
ceremonies,  —  circumcision,  baptism,  and  sacrifice. 
Hence  as  j^i'oselyting  was  common,  so  was  baptism, 
among  the  Jews  in  the  times  of  John  the  Baptist ; 
and  so  the  rite,  as  administered  by  him,  did  not  create 
any  interest  as  a  novelty  or  innovation. 

Having  stated  it  for  substance,  let  us  now  unfold 
this  historical  fact  more  particularly,  that  we  may 
feel  more  fully  its  just  bearings  on. our  general  sub- 
ject. 

It  may  be  best  to  mention  first  the  authorities 
used.  The  first  and  main  one  is  the  Talmuds. 
These  are  a  compend  of  Jewish  writings.  The 
Jews  hold,  that,  when  God  gave  a  written  law  to 


JEWISH   BAPTISMS.  81 

!Moscs,  lie  also  gave  him  an  oral  law,  to  be  preserved 
and  i)assed  down  from  age  to  age  by  tradition. 
After  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  and  the  disper- 
sion of  the  Jews,  A.D.  70,  they  were  afraid  of  losing 
this  oral  law,  and  so  took  measures  to  have  it  com- 
mitted to  writing.  This  was  accomplished  between 
A.D.  190  and  A.D.  220,  a  date  near  enough  to  the 
times  of  our  Saviour  to  allow  for  a  correct  record 
concerning  their  religious  ceremonies.  Prideaux  says 
tliey  were  written  out  within  one  hundred  years  of 
John  the  Baptist.  During  the  century  following,  the 
Jewish  Rabbles  in  Palestine  wrote  out  extensive  com- 
menturies  on  this  traditional  law.  These  commenta- 
ries, with  the  oral  law,  constitute  Avhat  is  called  the 
Jerusalem  Talmud.  Before  A.D.  500  the  Rabbies 
among  the  Babylonian  Jews  also  prepared  a  com- 
mentary on  this  same  traditional  law.  This,  with 
the  oral  law,  composes  what  is  known  as  the  Babylo- 
nian Talmud.  These  Talmuds,  it  will  be  seen,  must 
be  of  the  highest  authority  on  Jewish  doctrine  and 
usage.  The  oral  law,  which  in  them  is  reduced  to 
writing,  they  were  accustomed  to  place  even  above 
the  recorded  law  of  God  as  set  forth  in  the  Penta- 
teuch. And  so  Christ  said  to  the  Jews,  "  Ye  have 
made  the  commandment  of  God  of  none  effect  by 
youi'  tradition." 

There  was  a  Jewish  sect  in  the  times  of  our  Lord, 
called  the  Hemerobaptists.  In  his  book  on  "  The 
Heresies,"  Epiphanius  (born  A.D.  310,  archbishop  in 
Cyprus)  mentions  this  order,  as  accustomed  to  the 
daily  ablution  of  the  entire  body  as  indispensable  to 
salvation.     Hegesippus,  a  writer  in  the  middle  of  the 


82      THE  CHURCH  AND  HER  CHILDREN. 

second  centun^  mentions  this  same  sect  as  quoted 
by  Eusebius  in  his  Ecclesiastical  History.  Justin 
Martyr,  in  his  dialogue  with  Trypho,  refers  to  them, 
but  calls  them  simply  "Baptists."  In  the  Tndiculum 
Hsereseon,  a  little  work  commonly  attributed  to  Je- 
rome, they  are  also  mentioned. 

This  naked  reference  is  made  to  these  Everyday 
Baptists,  and  to  the  early  authors  who  speak  of  them, 
simply  to  show  that  in  the  times  of  our  Lord  bap- 
tism was  so  common  among  the  Jews  that  a  fanatical 
denomination  had  become  established  on  the  theory 
that  its  daily  observance  was  necessary  to  salvation. 

Another  principal  authority  is  Maimonides.  He 
was  a  most  learned  Rabbi,  who  flourished  about 
A.D.  1150.  "  The  Jews  are  unable  to  set  bounds 
to  the  veneration  in  which  this  learned  man  is  held." 
They  call  him  "  The  Eagle  of  the  Doctors,"  "  The 
Glory  of  the  East,"  "  The  Light  of  the  West."  i 
Of  course  his  historical  statements  concerning  the 
usages  of  his  people  must  command  a  place  of  the 
first  importance. 

Among  English  authorities,  Dr.  Lightfoot  holds  a 
pre-eminent  place.^  He  made  himself  very  familiar 
with  all  these  writings  of  the  Jcavs  to  which  we 
have  referred,  and  is  more  used  than  any  other 
English  author,  as  both  most  learned  and  reliable. 
On  the  subject  in  hand  he  says, — 

1  Berk's  History  of  the  Jews,  p.  179. 

2  See,  for  jijeneral  reference,  London  ed.  folio,  two  vols.,  1(>S4; 
Hebrew  and  Talnnidical  Exercitations  on  St.  Matthew  iii.  5,  vol.  ii. 
]  lG-22;  A  Sermon  preached  before  the  Natives  of  Staffordshire,  K)o8, 
ii.  1(140,  et  seq.;  a  Sermon  x>i'eaohed  at  Aspedeu,  KiCK),  ii.  1132,  etseq.; 
also,  i.  208-10,  52o-7. 


JEWISH  BAPTISMS.  83 

"  The  first  use  of  baptism  was  not  exlul)ited  at 
that  time  [of  John  the  Baptist]  ;  for  baptism  very  -. 
many  centuries  of  3'ears  backwards  had  been  both 
known  and  received  in  most  frequent  use  among  the 
Jews,  and  for  the  very  same  end,  as  it  now  obtains 
among  Christians,  namely,  that  by  it  proselytes 
might  be  admitted  into  the  Church  ;  and  hence  it 
was  called  baptism  for  proselytism  ;  "  ^  and  he  refers 
to  the  Bab^'lonian  Talmud  for  liis  authority. 

He  adds  that  it  was  an  axiom  among  the  Jews, 
/ "  No  man  is  a  proselyte  until  he  be  circumcised  and 
baptized  ;  "  *  and  so  he  says,  "  You  see  baptism 
inseparably  joined  to  the  circumcision  of  proselytes.^ 
And  Maimonides  says  the  same  :  "  In  all  ages,  when 
an  ethnic  is  willing  to  enter  into  the  covenant,  and 
gather  himself  under  the  wings  of  the  majesty  of 
God,  and  take  upon  him  the  yoke  of  the  law,  he 
must  be  circumcised  and  baptized,  and  bring  a  sacri- 
fice, or,  if  it  be  a  woman,  be  baptized,  and  bring  a 
sacrifice."  ^ 

By  this  last  remark  of  Maimonides  it  will  be 
noticed  that  female  converts  to  Judaism  received  the 
ordinance  of  baptism.  The  authorities  are  full  on 
this  point.  This  is  a  very  important  historical  fact 
to  be  borne  in  mind,  while  meeting  the  objection,  that 
if  baptism  is  made  to  take  the  place  of  circumcision, 
only  males  could  be  baptized. 

The  Talmud  says,  "  We  find,  concerning  the  maid- 
servants who  were  baptized   but  not   circumcised," 

8  Lightfoot's  Works,  London,  1684,  vol.  ii.  117. 

<  Ibidem.    6  Do.  p.  118. 

6  Wall's  Hist.  lufaut  Bap.,  Cotton's  ed..  Ox.  1844,  vol.  i.  5. 


84      THE  CHUKCH  AND  HER  CHILDREN. 

that  they  are  proselytes.  "  One  baptizeth  a  heathen 
Avoman  in  the  name  of  a  woman  :  we  can  assert  that 
for  a  deed  rightl}^  done."  ^  And  again :  "  When  a 
proselyte  is  received,  he  must  be  circumcised ;  and 
then  .  .  .  they  baptize  him  in  the  presence  of  two  wise 
men,  saying,  Behold,  he  is  an  Israelite  in  all  things ; 
'  or,  if  it  be  a  woman,  the  women  lead  her  to  the 
waters,"  &c.^ 

And,  what  should  be  more  carefully  noted  as  bear- 
ing peculiarly  on  our  inquiry,  if  the  parents  were 
baptized,  the  young  children  were  included  as  a  mat- 
ter of  course.  The  law  of  baptism  held  all  who  were 
held  by  the  law  of  circumcision,  and  went  beyond, 
including  females.  From  the  abundance  of  testi- 
mony to  this  point,  an  item  or  two  must  suffice. 

Says  Lightfoot :  '•'•  For  so  was  the  Custom  of  the 
Jewish  Nation  in  their  use  of  Baptism,  when  a  Pros- 
elyte came  in,  his  children  were  baptized  with  him  : 
and  all  this  upon  this  ground,  that  all  that  \A'ere  re- 
lated to  the  parent  might  come  into  Covenant."  ^ 

And  to  the  same  effect  he  quotes  the  Babylonian 
Talmud  and  Commentary  thus :  ''  They  baptize  a 
little  Proselyte  according  to  the  judgment  of  the 
Sanhedrim.  If  he  be  deprived  of  his  father,  and  his 
mother  bring  him  to  be  made  a  Proselyte,  they  bap- 
tize him,  because  none  becomes  a  Proselyte  without 
Circumcision  and  Baptism,  according  to  the  judgment 
of  the  Sanhedrim,  that  is,  that  three  men  be  present 
at  the  Baptism,  who  are  now  instead  of  a  father  to 
him."  10 

7  Lif^htfoot  ii.  117-18.     »  Wall's  Hist.  Inf.  Bap.,  i.  7. 
^  Works,  vol.  ii.  1128.    lo  Do.  118. 


JEWISH   BAPTISMS.  8o 

As  to  the  age  under  Avliich  a  child  may  be  tlie 
proper  subject  of  infant  baptism,  they  had  this 
rule :  — 

"  Any  male  cliild  of  a  proselyte,  that  was  under 
the  age  of  thirteen  years  and  a  day,  and  females  that 
were  under  twelve  years  and  a  day,  they  baptized  as 
infants,  at  the  request  and  by  the  assent  of  the 
father,  or  the  authority  of  the  court,  because  such  an 
one  was  not  yet  the  son  of  assent,  as  they  phrase  it, 
i.e.,  not  callable  to  give  assent  for  himself ;  but  the 
thing  is  for  his  good.  If  they  were  above  that  age 
they  consented  for  themselves."  ^^ 

And  this  usage  of  infant  baptism  among  the  Jews 
is  farther  illustrated  by  one  of  those  mercies  that 
cropped  out  over  the  barbaric  roughnesses  of  their 
times.  The  practice  of  the  heathen  to  expose  their 
infants  to  death  is  well  known  ;  and  such  were 
often  found  by  the  Jews,  and  adopted  into  their  fam- 
ilies either  as  children  or  servants  ;  and  they  did 
the  same  often,  with  infants  that  came  into  their 
hands  by  victory  on  the  battle-field.  For  the  treat- 
ment of  these  the  Jerusalem  Talmud  thus  pre- 
scribes :  — 

"  Behold,  one  finds  an  infant  cast  out,  and  bap- 
tizes him  in  the  name  of  a  servant.  Do  thou  also 
circumcise  him  in  the  name  of  a  servant.  But,  if  he 
baptize  him  in  the  name  of  a  freeman,  do  thou  also 
circumcise  him  in  the  name  of  a  freeman."  ^^ 

And  the  statement  of  Maimonides  is  to  the  same 
purpose  :  ''  An  Israelite  that  takes  a  little  heathen 

11  WaU  i.  17.       12  11,^1 1  20. 


»b      THE  CHURCH  AND  HER  CHHiDREN. 

child,  or  that  finds  an  heathen  infant,  and  baptizes 
him  for  a  proselyte,  behold,  he  is  a  proselyte."  ^^ 

These  are  but  a  few  of  the  very  many  specific  and 
direct  declarations  of  the  practice  of  baptism  by  the 
Jews  in  the  times  of  John  the  Baptist.  It  is  not 
needful  to  multiply  these  quotations.  But  there  are 
certain  incidentals  or  wayside  items,  that  have  a 
peculiar  force  in  illustrating  Jewish  baptisms. 

Maimonides  sa3^s  that  when  any  offered  themselves 
as  prosel3'tes  for  baptism,  "  they  make  diligent  inquiry 
concerning  such,  lest  they  come  to  get  themselves 
under  the  law  for  some  riches  that  they  should 
receive,  or  for  dignity  that  they  should  obtain,  or  for 
fear.  If  it  be  a  man,  they  inquire  whether  he  have 
not  set  his  affections  on  some  Jewish  woman  ;  or  a 
woman,  her  affection  on  some  young  man  of  Israel." 
Maimonides  makes  mention  also  of  many  minute 
circumstances  that  must  attend  the  ceremony  of  bap- 
tism. It  must  not  be  on  the  Sabbath,  nor  on  any 
holy  day,  nor  by  night.  There  must  be  three  wit- 
nesses of  the  ceremony.  Circumcision  must  precede 
it,  and  a  bloody  offering  accompany  it ;  yet,  in  times 
of  revolution  or  dispersion,  the  sacrifice  may  be 
omitted.  The  sacrifice  must  be  a  burnt-offering  of 
a  beast,  or  of  two  turtle-doves,  or  of  two  young 
pigeons.  It  was  also  a  rite  never  to  be  repeated  on 
the  same  person.  Nor  were  the  children  born  to  pros- 
elyte parents  after  their  baptism  to  be  baptized  ;  for 
(  baptism  b}^  the  Jew  was  regarded  as  a  purification  of 
the  race  or  family  stock.     The  parents  once  purified, 

13  WaUi.  20. 


JEWISH   BAPTISMS.  87 

all   their  unborn   posterity  were  made    pure  up    to 
parental  apostacy. 

Here  is  the  fittest  phxce  to  mark  the  sliarp  distinc- 
tion that  the  Jews  made  between  baptism  and  circum-  , 
cision  in  their  uses.   .  Baptism  constituted  one  a  Jew, 
while  circumcision   constituted  him  a  Church-mem- 
ber. 1^ 

The  side-allusions  to  this  usage,  scattered  through 
the  best  Jewish  authorities,  show  baptism  to  have 
been  as  surely  an  ordinance  among  them  as  circum- 
cision or  sacrifice.  And  now  we  see  the  reason  for 
these  strono^  and  confident  declarations  of  Dr.  Lis^ht- 
foot,  a  man  so  scholarly  in  the  writings  of  the  Jews 
concerning  their  doctrines  and  antiquities.  "  Bap- 
tism was  well  enough  known  to  the  Jews  ;  and  both 
John  and  Jesus  Christ  took  it  up  as  they  found  it." 
"  Christ  took  up  baptism  as  he  found  it  in  the  Jewish 
Church ;  and  they  baptized  infants  as  well  as  grown 
persons."  ''  Think  not  that  baptism  was  never  used  ( 
till  John  Baptist  came  and  baptized.  It  was  used  in 
the  Church  of  the  Jews  many  generations  before  he 
was  born."  "  Baptism  of  men,  women,  and  children, 
was  no  new  thing  among  them,  when  John  Baptist 
came  baptizing,  but  a  thing  as  well  known  as  with 
us  now."  "  Christ  took  baptism  into  his  hands  and 
into  evangelical  use,  as  he  found  it,  this  only  added, 
—  that  he  might  promote  it  to  a  worthier  end  and  to 
a  larger  use.  The  whole  nation  knew  well  enougli 
that  little  children  used  to  be  baptized.  .  .  .  Nor  do 
I  believe  this  People  that  flocked  to  John's  Baptism 

14  WaU  i.  5-45. 


88      THE  CHURCH  AND  HER  CHILDREN". 

were  so  forsretful  of  the  manner  and  custom  of  the 
Nation,  that  they  brought  not  their  little  children 
also  with  them  to  be  baptized."  "  We  suppose, 
therefore,  that  men,  women,  and  children  came  to 
John's  baptism,  according  to  the  manner  of  the 
Nation  in  the  reception  of  Proselytes."  ^^ 

When  baptism  was  introduced  among  the  Jews  is 
not  definitely  known.  Its  origin  among  them  is  of 
very  great  antiquity,  as  we  are  informed  by  Jost.^^ 
The  Septuagint  says  that  Naaman  was  baptized 
[i^amiaaTo)  in  the  Jordan  for  the  curing  of  his  lepro- 
sy, and  that  unrighteousness  baptized  Isaiah  (//  dvo^ia 
liE  ^anTlL,Ei)  y^  There  are  about  twenty  cases  in  the 
Septuagint  where  the  Greek  for  "  baptism  "  is  used 
as  in  the  New  Testament.  Now,  if  Alexandrian 
Greek,  B.C.  280,  could  properly  describe  acts  as 
baptisms  that  took  place  among  the  Jews  seven  hun- 
dred and  nine  hundred  years  before  the  Christian  era, 
we  can  easily  presume  that  baptism  was  a  rite  of  very 
great  antiquity  among  them.  One  thing  is  evident : 
in  the  times  of  our  Lord  the  rite  was  national  among 
them.     So  Jost  says,  "  Jesus  also,  honoring  the  na- 

15  Lightfoot's  Works,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  1129,  1133,  1040,  110,  122.  See 
also  Mosheim's  Hist.  Coin.,  vol.  i.  80,  Murdock's  translation.  "No 
special  historical  incident  is  necessar}^  to  account  for  the  origin  of 
John's  baptism.  Since  lustrations  were  common  in  the  Jewish  wor- 
sliip,  it  would  readily  occur  to  him  to  represent,  hy  a  symbolical 
rite,  the  repentance  which  he  preached.  True,  this  Avas  not  done  by 
his  own  arbitrary  will :  the  Divine  Spirit,"  &c.  Olshausen's  Cora., 
Matt.  iii.  1. 

16  Jost,  "a  learned  JeAvish  Eabbi,  who  has  devoted  his  life  to  the 
investigation  of  such  subjects,  and  who  is  considered  by  intelligent 
Jews  as  the  most  profound  historian  of  the  age."— Rev.  James 
MuRDOCK,  D.D.,  Bib.  Ecpos  xiv.  174. 

1'  Isa.  xxi.  4. 


JEWISH  BAPTISMS.  89 

tional  custom,  received  consecration  from  him"  (John 
the  Baptist).i8 

In  these  historical  inquiries  into  the  baptism  of 
Jolni,  we  find  several  important  facts. 

Baptism,  as  a  religious  ceremony,  was  in  common 
use  among  the  Jews  in  the  time  of  John  the  Baptist. 
Why  introduced  among  the  Jews,  and  how  long  be- 
fore, and  by  what  authority,  are  questions  not  per- 
tinent to  the  unfolding  of  our  one  topic. ^^  It  is 
enough  here  to  know  the  fact  that  baptism  was  in 
general  practice  among  the  Jews  before  and  during 
the  time  of  John.  It  was  used  as  an  introductory 
rite  to  a  new  religion.  The  Jews  esteemed  the  pagan 
Gentiles  as  an  iinckan  people ;  yet  they  were  con- 
stantly drawing  converts  from  them.  When  one  came 
over  to  Judaism,  he  received  the  baptismal  cleansing. 
The  act  made  him  a  Jew.  It  initiated  him  into  a 
new  religion.  It  did  not  admit  him  to  Church-mem- 
bei-ship  :  this  Avas   the   office  of  circumcision.     When 

18  "  Fallnntiir  qui  ejus  natale=?  uon  ultra  Johannis  prnRconiuni  ex- 
tendunt.  Scriptura  pariter  ac  Josephus  de  hujus  baptisino  loquuu- 
tur,  tanquam  ritu  diulum  in  eccle^ia  Judaico  recepto." 

Jo.  Andrenc  Danzii  Baptismus  Proselit.  Judaic,  Thesaurus  Ugo- 
lini,  Tom.  xxii. 

19  Judaii  haptisuios  suos  quotidianos  ab  iEjjyptiis  aut  aliis  in  vioino 
gentibus  hausLsse  videntur.  Spencer.  De  Legibus  Heb. :  Lib  1,  c.viii. 
sec.  iii. 

Antiques  enini  lavandi  et  convivandi  ritus,  qui  cultus  Judaici 
atque  etliuici  pars  magna  fuere,  Christus  in  niysteria  sua  transtulit, 
et  ad  usus  non  niultuia  dissiniile^  ii^,  qnibus  olim  inveniebant,  in 
baptisnio  et  cocna  consecravit.     Do.  Lib,  iii.,  c.  ii.  sec.  iv. 

Baptisiuus  Chiistianoruni  Ebraicuni  baptisnnim,  quo  turn  pa- 
rentes  ipsoruni,  ut  volerunt  ipsi.  tuui  proselyti  Judaisnio  initiaban- 
tur,  liaud  paruin  imitibatur  ;  undo  uec  novus  visus  est  hie  ritus  cum 
fide  Christiana  iuibutis  adhibebatur, 

Seldeu.  De  EutychiiEcclesitesuje  Origines,  §  x. 
8* 


90  THE  CHURCH  AND   HER   CHH^DREN. 

the  father  of  a  family  received  it,  the  rite  was  also 
administered  to  his  children  of  thirteen  years  and 
under.  If  an  adult  female  became  a  proselyte,  she 
also  received  baptism.  So  was  the  ordinance  both 
national  and  common. 

When  John  the  Baptist  entered  on  his  work  as  the 
forerunner  of  Christ,  and  as  introducing  a  new  reli- 
gious dispensation,  he  found  this  proselyte  baptism  in 
common  use.  His  work  was  to  persuade  the  Jewish 
populace  to  receive  a  higher  and  holier  religion,  to 
proselyte  them  to  another  system.  This  proselyte 
baptism  was  precisely  the  rite  he  needed  to  indicate 
the  purification  of  his  converts,  and  to  seal  them 
over  to  this  new  religion.  This  baptism  John  prac- 
tised during  the  years  of  his  ministry  ;  and  so  suc- 
cessful was  he,  that  it  became  a  national  proselj^tism. 
There  "  went  out  to  him  Jerusalem  and  all  Judsea, 
and  all  the  region  round  about  Jordan,  and  were  bap- 
tized of  him  in  Jordan,  confessing  their  sins." 


CHAPTER  XIT. 

THE  RABBIES  AND  TALMUDS  AS  AUTHORITY. 

IT  appears  that  baptism  was  a  common  sacred  rite 
among  the  Jews  when  John  the  Baptist  began 
his  mission  in  the  wilderness  of  Judaea.  The  origin 
of  the  rite  was  so  ancient  among  them  as  to  be  un- 
known. The  Septuagint  shows  its  existence  in  the 
times  of  Naaman,  B.C.  804.  When  Gentiles  were 
proselyted  to  Judaism  they  were  baptized,  and  their 
children  also. 

Very  few  historical  facts  as  old  as  these  stand  out 
so  clearly  in  ancient  record.  Many  corner-stones  of 
empires,  and  foundations  of  dynasties,  and  chrono- 
logical pivots,  conceded  and  used  as  the  best  material 
of  ancient  history,  have  far  more  of  the  dust  of  ages 
and  obscurity  on  them,  than  lies  on  these  ecclesi- 
astical facts.  Doubts  on  such  data  must  make  the 
realms  of  ancient  history  mythical  generally  ;  and,  un- 
less one  proposes  to  go  into  doubting  as  an  historical 
sceptic,  and  for  the  policy  of  it,  we  see  not  how  these 
facts  can  be  set  aside. 

It  ma}^  be  objected,  that  we  have  quoted  mainly 
Rabbles  and  the  Talmuds,  and  Jewish  authors,  and 
that  these  are  not  to  be  trusted.  Had  the  Jewish 
writer  the  least  motive  to  falsify  the  records  of  his 

91 


92      THE  CHURCH  AND  HER  CHILDREN. 

people  and  Church  on  this  subject?  It  cannot  be 
shown  that  any  gain,  direct  or  remote,  would  accrue 
to  him  by  so  doing.  Very  like  the  objector  will  make 
the  old  and  commonplace  point,  that  there  is  much 
in  the  Talmuds  that  is  frivolous,  absurd,  and  even 
bare  nonsense.  Very  true  ;  this  is  a  characteristic  of 
those  Jewish  writings  :  but  does  such  a  quality  in  a 
work  disprove  its  historic  verity  ?  May  we  deny 
that  the  man  made  the  speech  because  very  foolish 
things  were  said  in  it  ?  May  we  say  that  a  sermon 
could  not  have  been  truthful  because  it  was  frivolous, 
or  not  genuine  because  it  was  stupid?  May  w^ 
deny  that  men  have  attacked  the  authority  of  the 
Talmuds,  because  the  attacks  were  so  puerile  ?  If 
nonsense  in  a  book  disproves  the  authenticity  and 
genuineness,  what  will  become  of  the  scholastic  and 
monkish  works  of  the  middle  ages  on  theology  and 
philosophy  and  the  sciences  ?  —  what  of  many  of  this 
age,  eighteen  hundred  years  hence  ? 

One  fact  is  a  total  refutation  of  the  objection  that 
the  Talmuds  are  not  to  be  trusted  on  questions  of 
history.  All  ecclesiastical  and  exegetical  writers  on 
the  authors  and  ceremonies  and  times  of  the  New 
Testament,  make  free  use  of  the  Talmuds,  where 
there  is  nothing  manifestly  untrue  in  the  quotation 
or  reference'  desired.  Those  most  interested  to  dis- 
prove their  authority  on  points  just  cited  quote 
them  on  other  points  without  any  historical  scepti- 
cism. One  case  will  serve,  while  long  chapters  of 
illustrations  could  be  given.  In  his  admirable  trea- 
tise on  The  Scriptural  Law  of  Divorce,  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Hovey,  professor  of  theology  in  the  Baptist  Theo- 


THE  RABBIES  AND   TALMUDS   AS  AUTHORITY.      93 

logical  Seminary  at  Newton,  quotes  the  teachings  of 
Hillel  and  Shanmiai.  Of  all  the  rabbinical  teachers 
wlio  furnished  materials  for  the  Jerusalem  Talmud, 
these  two  men  are  pre-eminent ;  and  the  professor 
makes  this  reference  to  them,  through  the  Talmud, 
with  perfect  propi-iety  and  safety.  We  also  would 
like  the  privilege  of  quoting  the  same  learned  Rab- 
bies  and  their  co-workers  in  that  vast  thesaurus  of 
Jewish  antiquities. 

Of  course  the  Talmuds  are  to  be  used,  like  any 
other  very  ancient  work,  with  a  critical  discretion. 
We  use  Josephus  in  that  way,  suspecting  him  "where 
his  Roman  interests  might  warp  him,  and  trusting  him 
where  known  fact  does  not  contradict  him.  Rawlin- 
son  convicts  Herodotus  of  grave  errors ;  but  we  rely 
on  the  great  historian,  nevertheless,  where  he  is  not 
convicted.  In  the  same  way,  it  is  manifestly  just 
to  use  the  Jewish  writings  of  the  early  Christian 
period. 

AVe  allow  the  authority  of  Josephus  ;  j^et  we  re- 
member, when  reading  hiui,  that  he  studied  the 
gratification  of  the  Romans  quite  as  much  as  fidelity 
to  his  own  people.  He  sought  favor  with  those  who 
had  conquered  and  devastated  his  country,  and  .so 
wrote  with  a  mingled  policy  and  truthfulness.  All 
this  we  bear  in  mind  ;  but  we  trust  him  where  he  is 
in  no  temptation  to  prove  an  unfaithful  historian. 

The  editor  of  the  Mischna  lived  and  performed  his 
work  only  about  half  a  century  later  than  Josephus ; 
and  there  appears  to  be  no  good  reason  for  not  re- 
ceiving his  writings  with  the  same  discrimination  and 
approval.     Where  the  Rabbles  liave  incorporated  fa- 


94      THE  CHURCH  AND  HER  CHILDREN. 

Lies,  trifles,  and  absurdities  into  the  Talmud,  it  must 
be  obvious  to  the  intelligent  reader ;  while  evidently 
the  most  that  they  say  is  truthful  to  the  doctrines,  eth- 
ics, ceremouies,  and  opinions  of  the  da}^.  The  obvious 
fable  should  not  lead  us  to  reject  the  obvious  fact. 
Their  logic,  specially  on  theological  and  moral  ques- 
tions, is  often  childish ;  but  this  does  not  vitiate  their 
honestly-stated  data.  Their  follies  in  moral,  social, 
and  ritual  life  cannot  affect  the  truthfulness  of  ^he 
picture.  The  wrinkles  and  deformities  in  the  photo- 
graph really  praise  the  fidelity  of  the  artist.  Some 
of  the  most  faithful  and  profitable  chapters  in  the 
history  of  scholasticism,  literature,  and  ethics  in  the 
middle  ages  are  chapters  of  absurdities  and  trifles. 
Yet  the  great  facts  of  mediaeval  history  are  thus  im- 
bedded; and,  where  the  probabilities  are  favorable  to 
a  statement  of  fact,  we  credit  the  author  for  fidelity, 
and  quote  him  as  authority.  The  Talmud s  must  be 
read  in  the  same  spirit  of  analytic  trust  and  distrust. 
When  a  Jewish  doctor  of  divinity  gravely  discusses 
the  question.  Is  it  right  to  kill  a  flea  on  the  Sabbath  ? 
we  .take  his  logic  for  what  it  is  worth ;  but  the  dis- 
cussion we  take  as  a  fair  picture  of  the  moral  and 
ritualistic  temper  of  the  times.  If  no  good  reason 
can  be  shown  for  prejudice,  prevarication,  mistake,  or 
intentional  deception,  we  accept  as  historically  true 
what  he  says  of  any  religious  belief,  ceremony,  mode 
of  civil,  social,  or  domestic  life,  in  his  times ;  and  he 
who  doubts  assumes  the  burden  of  disproof. 

In  estimating  the  authoritative  worth  of  any  por- 
tion of  the  Talmuds,  we  should  consider  that  the 
writers   were    dispersed   among   the  nations.     Their 


THE  RABBIES  AND   TALMUDS   AS  AUTHORITY.      95 

temple  service  was  suspended  ;  and  hy  disuse  their 
ritual  law  was  becoming  a  dead-letter.  Their  sacred 
ceremonies  and  customs  were  becoming  obsolete 
through  their  own  dispersion  ;  and,  by  consequent 
want  of  consultation  and  ruiiformity,  they  were  be- 
coming corrupted.  Yet  they  fully  expected  a  Mes- 
siah ;  and  they  believed  that  when  he  did  come  they 
would  repossess  the  land  of  promise,  rebuild  the 
temple,  and  re-establish  their  religion  in  Judaea  in  all 
its  primitive  purity  of  ritual  and  spirit. 

When  such  a  time  of  restitution  should  come,  they 
foresaw  that  their  posterity  would  both  wish  and 
need  an  appeal  to  the  law  and  the  testimony,  that  all 
might  be  reconstructed  after  the  pattern  of  the 
fathers.  To  meet  the  necessities  of  such  a  time  they 
wrote  out  the  Mischna,  or  oral  tradition  from  Moses, 
and  its  Gemaras,  or  the  commentaries  of  the  Rabbies 
on  it.  These  writings  were  to  lie  by,  patient  and 
immutable  witnesses,  to  give  testimony  when  again 
the  restored  Jews  should  rebuild  the  waste  places, 
and  inhabit  the  former  desolations,  and  order  the  ser- 
vice of  God  in  Mosaic  and  Aaronic  fidelity. 

Their  sincerity  cannot  be  questioned  in  such  an 
expectation;  nor  can  we  see  any  motive  to  unfaithful- 
ness in  the  records  they  should  make  for  a  coming  age. 
As  they  thought  that  they  then  had  every  doctrine 
and  custom  as  it  should  be,  whatever  their  errors 
may  have  been,  we  see  no  reason  why  they  should 
not  write  it  out  with  a  ipost  punctilious  exactness. 
There  is  an  utter  absence  of  any  temptation  to  the 
contrary.  If  they  affirmed  any  doctrinal,  ceremonial, 
or  ethical  fact,  the  presumption  is  almost  total  that 


96  THE  CHimCH  AND  HER   CHILDREN. 

we  should  credit  their  statement.  They  wrote  for 
their  own  people,  and  not  for  others,  and  had  no 
motive  to  misrepresent  themselves  to  please  either 
Christians  or  Gentiles. 

Moreover,  the  writers  lived  among  the  things  of 
which  they  write.  Rabbi  Judah,  the  compiler  of  the 
Mischna,  and  they  whose  memoranda  he  used,  must 
have  known  something  personally,  though  in  youth, 
of  the  second  temple,  and  were  the  children  of  those 
who  sacrificed  in  it  and  saw  its  terrible  destruction 
by  Titus.  As  the  head  of  the  sect  of  the  Pharisees, 
he  could  not  have  erred  as  to  principle  and  fact  in 
what  he  wrote. 

What,  therefore,  the  sacred  and  profane  histories 
of  the  early  Christian  centuries  do  not  contradict  in 
the  Talmuds,  ordinary  obligation  to  authors  binds  us 
to  receive,  so  far  as  a  declaration  of  fact  is  concerned. 
Where  they  throw  light  on  any  custom,  doctrine,  or 
law  mentioned  in  the  Old  or  New  Testament,  it 
should  be  taken  as  testimony  of  the  first  class,  because 
contemporaneous,  as  Prof.  Hovey  has  quoted  them 
on  the  question  of  divorce. 

In  coming,  therefore,  to  the  study  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament, on  any  question  of  faith  or  practice,  as  then 
held  in  the  old  Abrahamic  Church,  or  quietly  as- 
sumed, admitted,  or  used  in  the  Christian  Church, 
these  writings  of  the  Jews  must  be  a  great  aid.  As 
we  read  the  New  Testament,  some  things  seem  to 
have  been  believed,  assun\ed,  and  done,  as  a  matter 
of  course,  and  without  any  particular  instruction,  so 
far  as  the  record  shows.  They  appear  to  be  j^art 
and  parcel  of  the   religious    current    of   the   times, 


THE  RABBIES   AND   TALMUDS   AS   AUTHOiilTY.      97 

recognized  by  Christ  and  the  apostles,  and  accepted 
by  simple  assent,  as  a  part  of  tlie  Christian  current 
that  was  from  tliem  to  run  on  through  the  ages.  It 
is  as  a  contemporary  and  collateral  light  in  such 
cases,  tliat  tliese  rabbinical  writings  have  their  great 
worth.  The  loci  Talmudlci  in  the  New  Testament, 
or  passages  illustrated  more  or  less  by  these  ancient 
writings,  are  very  many.  The  Gospel  of  St.  Mat- 
thew alone  has  one  hundred  and  twenty  of  them. 
Every  scholarly  commentator  on  the  New  Testament 
knows  that  there  are  peculiarities,  forms,  and  cere- 
monies found  there,  in  connection  with  the  Church, 
without  any  known  and  formal  introduction,  yet  with 
apostolic  sanction,  that  only  these  Jewish  writings 
can  explain.  Hundreds  of  keys  of  thought,  unlock- 
ing dark  recesses  in  the  New  Testament,  now  com- 
mon property  in  Gentile  authors,  came  originally  from 
the  Talmuds. 

It  is,  therefore,  a  huge  assumption,  and  an  assault 
on  the  canons  of  historical  criticism,  to  reject  the 
Jewish  accounts  of  Jewish  baptisms  in  the  times  of 
our  Lord,  without  makijig  specific  objections  to  any 
excepted  passage. 

Let  us  turn  this  thought  in  another  light  at  tliis 
point,  even  at  the  expense  of  anticipating  the  argu- 
ment of  a  future  chapter.  Very  early  in  the  Christian 
era,  as  early  as  A.D.  200,  all  agree  that  the  Jews 
baptized  infants  ;  while  with  the  Christians  the  rite 
was  old  and  well  established,  as  is  also  agreed,  as 
early  as  A.D.  253.  When  did  the  Jews  adopt  the 
rite?  And  where  did  the  Christians  obtain  it?  / 
There  is  only  one  historical  answer. 

7 


98  THE  CHURCH  AND  HER   CHLLDREN. 

The  history  of  this  rite  among  the  Jews  in  the 
time  of  our  Lord,  as  furnished  by  the  Talmuds,  is 
the  uninspired  preface  to  the  inspired  history  of 
household  baptism  in  the  Book  of  Acts. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE   GREAT   COMMAND. 

"npEACH  all  nations  [make  disciples:  proselyte 
-L  them  to  my  religion],  baptizing  them."  Wliat 
is  that  ?  The  term  is  not  explained.  It  has  no  quali- 
fying words  as  to  mode  or  subjects.  Without  com- 
ment or  enlargement,  do  the  apostles  know  what  the 
ascending  Master  means?  Shut  out  all  history  be- 
tween the  present  and  tliat  time  ;  go  back  beyond 
The  Book  of  Acts  and  the  day  of  Pentecost ;  hear 
for  yourself  that  command,  —  and  wliat  will  you  do? 
''  Baptizing  them."  What  is  the  thing  to  be  done  ? 
To  whom  is  it  to  be  done  ?  Is  there  any  antecedent 
or  surrounding  light  to  guide  you  ?  You  cannot 
consult  The  Acts  of  the  Apostles  and  the  Epistles, 
the  councils  and  commentaries  and  Church  histories. 
Is  there  any  sacred  service  or  ceremony  of  the  times 
that  can  explain  the  command  ?  Evidently  our  Lord 
assumes  that  the  apostles  know  what  he  .means;  and 
they  do  know. 

In  pursuing  the  inquiry,  who,  according  to  this  last 
command  of  our  ascending  Lord,  should  be  baptized, 
we  need  not  so  much  a  lexicon  to  define  the  word, 
or  a  commentary  to  give  the  opinions  of  the  learned, 
as  a  view  of  the  times  when  the  Lord  Jesus  issued 
the  commission.  -  • 

99 


100  THE  CHURCH  A^T>  HER  CHILDREN. 

For  it  is  one  of  the  first  principles  of  interpretation, 
in  gaining  the  import  of  an  old  law,  to  ascertain  how 
it  would  fall  in  with  the  times  when  it  was  given,  how 
it  would  suit  the  circumstances  of  that  day,  and  how 
those  to  whom  it  was  given  would  naturally  under- 
stand it.  The  time  and  the  place  of  the  giving  of  a 
brief  and  doubtful  command  are  two  admirable 
expositors.  They  are  as  the  "  two  great  lights  "  that 
God  made  in  the  beginning. 

Let  us,  then,  place  ourselves  with  the  eleven 
when  they  were  commissioned  for  this  baptismal 
work.  They  are  in  Judoea,  and  near  the  close  of  the 
first  third  of  the  first  Christian  centur3^  Judaism  is 
as  yet  the  religion  of  the  land.  Its  religious  forms, 
rites,  and  ceremonies  are  daily  seen  on  every  hand. 
The  eleven  are  commanded  to  go  and  make  disciples 
to  Christ,  or  proselytes  to  the  Gospel.  This  is  the 
import  of  that  word  "  teach,"  and  is  so  given  in  the 
maroinal  reading^  of  the  received  version.  The 
eleven  understood  this  duty.  They  saw  such  reli- 
gious labor  in  the  daily  life  of  the  Jews  around  them. 
Those  Jews  were  compassing  sea  and  land  to  make 
proselytes ;  and  the  disciples  understood,  that  with  a 
deeper  ardor,  and  for  a  vastly  holier  purpose,  they 
were  to  imitate  them  in  proselyting. 

Then,  when  by  their  teaching  they  had  gained  a 
disciple,  a  proselyte  to  this  new  religion,  they  were 
to  baptize  him.  This  ordinance,  as  we  have  seen, 
was  no  novelty  to  them.  It  was  from  the  olden  time 
in  the  Holy  Land.  As  zealous  Jews  formerly  them- 
selves, they  had  labored  to  gain  Gentile  converts,  and 
bring  them  to  this  purifying  rite ;  and  often  had 
they  seen  it  administered. 


THE  GREAT   COMMAND.  101 

The  Lake  of  Mcrom  and  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  as  well 
as  waters  more  private,  had  witnessed  the  dedication 
of  many  a  proselyte.  What  multitndes  had  they  seen 
thronging  to  John's  baptism  at  JEnon,  and  along  the 
Jordan !  And  probably  the  apostles  themselves  re- 
ceived  this  same  baptism. 

Then,  what  they  were  commanded  now  to  do  was 
no  new  and  strange  thing.  The  mode  and  nature  of 
the  ceremony  were  familiar  to  them,  as  common 
nsage  in  their  native  land. 

True,  they  were  to  exact  a  more  spiritual  and  rad- 
ical preparation  for  it,  and  were  to  attach  a  deeper 
significance  to  it ;  but  the  rite  itself  was  to  them  old 
and  familiar. 

They  had  seen  adult  females  receive,  as  proselytes, 
this  ordinance,  and  so  become  members  of  the  Com- 
monwealth of  Israel.  They  saw  them  in  the  mixed 
multitude  that  gathered  so  eagerly  to  John's  baptism. 
So,  when  they  made  disciples  and  baptized  them, 
they  would,  as  a  matter  of  course,  include  the  fe- 
males, though  we  do  not  find  any  specific  order  to 
this  effect.  As  a  matter  of  recorded  fact,  we  find 
that  they  did  thus  infer  their  duty,  and  did  baptize 
women. 

The  eleven  also  saw  that  proselyte  parents,  coming 
to  this  ordinance  under  John  the  Baptist,  brought 
their  little  ones  with  them,  and  made  them  over  to 
the  new  reliction  with  the  same  ceremonial  seal  of 
water.  They  knew  no  case  where  a  proselyte  parent 
had  kept  back  his  infant  child  from  baptism.  To  the 
male  infant  of  a  Gentile  thus  coming  over  to  Judaism, 
they  knew  that  baptism  was  as  much  a  matter  of 


102     THE  CHURCH  AND  HER  CHILDREN. 

course  as  circumcision.  Each  was  inevitable.  "  The 
whole  nation  knew  well  enough  that  little  children 
used  to  be  baptized."  It  was  as  persistently  exacted 
as  the  other  ceremonies  so  tenaciously  held  and 
rigidly  enforced  by  that  ritual  people.  It  was  an 
integral  part  of  the  idea  of  proselyte  baptism,  as  held 
and  practised  in  those  times,  that  it  covers  the  child 
as  well  as  the  parent.  This  the  eleven  knew,  and 
saw  illustrated,  and  very  like  had  practised,  as  Jews. 

This  was  the  usage  and  the  teaching  of  those 
times.  These  were  the  surroundings  of  the  disciples, 
when  commanded  to  baptize  their  converts.  An 
ancient  and  common  rite,  that,  coming  on  the  head, 
invariably  covered  the  members,  of  the  household, 
they  were  to  administer.  There  is  no  qualifying 
Avord,  no  intimation,  that  in  the  new  use  of  an  old 
rite  there  is  to  be  any  change  as  to  the  sex  or  age  of 
the  subjects  of  it. 

Place  yourself,  now,  in  those  times,  and  in  those 
circumstances ;  and,  receiving  that  command,  whom 
would  you  baptize  ?  How  would  the  sentiments  and 
usages  of  the  times,  concerning  the  rite  of  proselyte 
baptism,'  interpret  this  command  to  you  ?  The  Jews 
around  you,  your  neighbors,  are  industrious  in  mak- 
ing proselytes ;  and,  gaining  the  head  of  a  Gentile 
family,  they  baptize  the  household.  You  are  com- 
manded to  make  proselytes  and  baptize.  You  have 
no  command  or  intimation  to  draw  a  dividing  line 
between  the  parent  and  the  infant  child  in  adminis- 
tering the  ordinance.  The  command  is  simply  to 
baptize  ;  as  if,  from  all  you  know  of  usage,  and  all  you 
see  in  practice  about  you,  there  could  be  no  need  of 


THE  GREAT  COMMAND.  103 

describing  more  specifically  who  should  oe  baptized. 
You  are  left,  therefore,  for  an  interpretation  of  the 
command,  to  the  practice  of  your  proselyting  neigh- 
bors, the  Jews. 

They  followed  the  rule  as  the  Talmud  records  it : 
"  Any  male  child  of  a  proselyte,  that  was   under  the 
age  of  thirteen  years  and  a  day,  and  females  that  were  \ 
under  twelve  years  and  a  day,"  should  be  baptized. 

In  those  circumstances  could  the  eleven  do  any 
thing  otherwise  than  baptize  believers  and  their  house- 
holds ?  What  was  there  to  suggest  to  them  in  those 
times  any  other  course  ?  What  was  there  to  give 
to  them  the  notion,  so  foreign  to  all  the  teaching  and 
practice  of  the  day,  and  of  the  Jewish  Church  from 
Abraham,  that  the  infant  of  the  believer  was  to  be 
passed  by  ? 

And  here  it  should  be  said  that  we  are  not  to  mark 
out  a  course,  or  provide  an  interpretation  for  the 
eleven,  from  the  views  and  feelings  of  this  day.  We 
may  not  make  up  a  creed  and  course  of  conduct  out 
of  our  present  denominational  material,  and  carry  it 
back  to  them  for  acceptance  and  use. 

Out  of  the  material  for  a  judgment  of  duty  that  they 
then  had,  in  the  traditions,  teachings,  and  practices  of 
their  times,  what  line  of  action  would  they  naturally, 
and  as  a  matter  of  course,  mark  out  for  themselves? 
As  this  command  of  our  Lord  is  a  brief  and  unex- 
plained command,  the  import  of  it  must  be  made  up 
from  the  views  and  uses  of  baptism  that  prevailed 
when  the  command  was  given.  As  a  matter  of 
course,  therefore,  the  eleven  would  proceed,  even  as 
Jews,  to  baptize  the  children  of  proselyte  believers. 


104  THE   CHURCH  AND   HER   CHHJDREN. 

And  a  separate  consideration  will  enforce  this  con- 
clusion. 

We  have  already  seen  that  the  Church  of  God  is 
one  and  the  same,  under  the  Jewish  and  Christian 
form  of  it.  The  Church  of  the  apostolic  age  is  but  a 
continuation  of  the  Church  of  the  preceding  ages. 
Its  confession  of  faith,  requisite  for  admission,  is  essen- 
tially the  same,  —  a  saving  belief  in  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ ;  though  after  the  death  of  Christ  this  founda- 
tion faith  of  the  Church  was  more  clearly  defined, 
and  more  fully  stated  and  exacted.  In  this  Church 
it  had  been  from  the  first,  as  a  rule,  invariable  and 
universal,  that  when  the  parent  came  into  it  his  little 
child  should  receive  the  same  seal  with  himself  of 
dedication  to  God. 

Now,  the  eleven,  constructing  no  new  Church,  but, 
as  apostles,  building  on  the  foundation  of  the 
prophets,  and  only  making  the  outlines  of  that  foun- 
dation more  clear  and  definite,  would  naturally  go  on 
the  presumption  that  the  children  of  believers  would 
continue  to  come  into  the  same  relations  with  the 
people  of  God  that  they  had  always  held ;  and,  bap- 
tism taking  the  place  of  circumcision,  as  an  introduc- 
tory rite,  and  adopted,  too,  from  common  Jewish 
usage  in  that  day,  by  which  the  children  of  proselyte 
believers  were  baptized,  it  would  be  the  most  obvious 
inference,  it  would  come  in  their  thoughts  in  the  line 
of  natural  sequence,  that  they  were  to  baptize  the 
children  of  those  adults  whom  they  proselyted  and 
baptized  into  the  Christian  dispensation  of  the  Church 
of  God. 

Or,  take  another  standpoint  from  which  to  look  for 


THE  GREAT   COMMAND.  105 

the  path  of  duty  for  the  eleven  in  obeying  this  com- 
niaiul. 

We  have  seen  that  our  Saviour  took  a  religious 
ceremony,  common  in  liis  times,  and  promoted  it  to  \ 
be  the  initiatoj:y  rite  to  his  Church.  In  doiug  this 
lie  displaced  the  former  rite  of  admission.  One  takes 
the  place  of  the  other.  Now,  suppose  the  Saviour, 
instead  of  making  this  change,  had  seen  fit  to  con- 
tinue the  old  rite,  and  so  had  said  to  the  apostles, 
"  Go  ye  therefore,  and  teach  all  nations,  circumcising 
them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and 
of  the  Holy  Ghost."  In  such  case  could  the  eleven  \ 
have  been  in  any  doubt  whether  they  should  admin- 
ister the  rite  to  the  children  of  believers  ?  Thouofh 
nothing  is  said  of  children,  would  they  not  be  in- 
cluded ?  Why  not  included,  then,  in  a  substituted 
rite,  that  was  to  answer  all  the  ends  of  the  other  ? 

Or,  vary  the  supposition.  A  Baptist  Board  of  Mis- 
sions sends  a  band  of  missionaries  to  a  particular  peo- 
ple, with  the  general  order  to  proselyte  them  to 
Christianity,  and  baptize  them.  How  shall  they 
understand  that  command  of  the  Board?  And  what 
shall  be  their  rule  in  determining  the  proper  subjects 
of  baptism  ?  The  home  usage  of  those  who  commis- 
sioned them. 

Suppose  the  missionaries  are  sent  by  the  Ameri- 
can Board  of  Missions.  What  now  shall  define  and 
limit  the  use  of  the  word  ''  baptize  "  ?  The  home  usage  ^ 
of  those  who  commissioned  them  ;  and  this  on  the 
supposition  that  they  know  what  that  usage  is,  and 
that  they  have  no  other  means  of  interpreting  the 
word  "  baptize,"  as  to  the  question  who  should  receive 


106     THE  CHUECH  AND  HER  CHILDREN. 

the  rite,  except  the  home  usage  of  those  who  com- 
missioned them. 

In  these  last  two  suppositions  we  have  the  circum- 
stances of  the  apostles  justly  set  forth,  as  they  were 
when  our  Lord  put  them  in  commission  to  baptize. 
They  were  to  use  a  common  and  well-known  rite  on 
their  adult  proselytes. 

Their  guide  in  the  administration  of  the  rite  must 
be  the  ordinary  Jewish  usage,  since  the  command  is 
given  them  in  general  and  absolute  form,  without  speci- 
fication, qualification,  or  limitation.  But,  in  the  ordi- 
nary Jewish  usage  of  that  rite,  the  children  of  adult 
proselytes  were  included  with  their  parents.  Can  a 
doubt  remain,  then,  what  course  the  apostles  will  pur- 
sue ?  What  is  there  in  all  the  circumstances  to  raise 
any  doubt  or  hesitation  in  their  own  minds  ?  What 
would  you  have  done  then  and  there,  thus  under  the 
commission  of  the  Lord  Jesus  ? 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

OBJECTIONS. 

IT  is  now  in  place  to  notice  certain  common  and 
plausible  objections.  So  long  as  these  very  im- 
portant facts,  now  stated,  are  unknown  or  unadmitted, 
there  are  some  objections  to  Infant  Baptism  that  must 
lie  with  weight. 

For,  if  all  connection  between  circumcision  and 
baptism  be  cut  ofp,  and  if  it  be  denied  that  each  is 
substantially  equivalent  to  the  other,  and  if  the  Jew- 
ish usages  of  baptism  be  kept  out  of  the  argument, 
and  the  history  of  Jewish  religious  ceremonies  in 
the  times  of  John  the  Baptist  be  excluded,  these 
objections  to  paedobaptism  may  have  a  peculiar  force. 
But  it  is  a  force  that  they  only  seem  to  have  so  long 
as  mateiial  facts  are  absent. 

1.  It  is  objected  that  the  command  is  to  baptize 
only  believers. 

And  so  it  may  be  correctly  said  that  only  believers 
in  Judaism  were  to  receive  the  circumcision  and  bap- 
tism of  a  proselyte.  Yet,  when  that  proselyte  had 
children,  even  so  young  as  to  be  unable  to  believe, 
tliey  were  to  receive  these  rites. 

The  rule  among  the  Jews  in  baptizing  proselytes 
was    to  baptize   only  believers.     An    adult    believer 

107 


108  THE   CHURCH  AND   HER   CHILDREN. 

must  be  found,  according  to  the  command  of  our 
Lord,  before  baptism  could  be  administered ,  but,  when 
found,  his  infant  children  were  to  be  reckoned  as  natu- 
ral adjuncts  of  the  man.  They  were  regarded  eccle- 
siastically as  parts  of  his  personal  responsibility,  and 
so  were  not  to  be  dissevered  from  him  in  any  total 
dedication  of  himself  and  all  his  to  God. 

The  ancient  policy  of  God  was  to  build  up  his 
Church  by  family  additions ;  and  ever  regarding,  as  he 
did,  the  family  as  a  unit,  he  embraced  all  when  he 
specified  the  head.  So,  when  the  parent  believed,  the 
children  were  held  also  by  presumption  and  anticipa- 
tion. The  policy  of  God  was  not  like  that  of  too 
many  parents,  who  presume  that  the  child  will  be  an 
unbeliever,  and  expect  it,  and  so  treat  it  negligently 
and  hopelessly,  and  thus  make  out  a  parental  insur- 
ance and  foreordination  of  unbelief.  Unlike  this  un- 
natural proceys,  having  the  seeds  of  death  in  it  as  an 
organic  law,  was  the  encircling  bond  of  mercy  and 
of  gracious  expectation  in  which  our  heavenl}^  Father 
enclosed  his  accepted  ones.  How  often  in  his  cove- 
nants of  mercy  do  we  find  the  phrases,  "  children's 
children,"  "  a  seed  to  serve  him,"  "  a  generation"  ! 

On  this  principle  his  Church  was  built  at  the  first, 
having  not  an  individual  but  a  family  basis ;  and  this 
policy  was  actively  in  practice  in  the  times  of  our 
Saviour.  He  continues  it  in  the  command  to  baptize 
only  believers.  As  a  matter  of  theory  in  the  Church 
from  time  immemorial,  and  as  a  theory  in  full  practice 
in  the  Church  to  which  they  were  to  make  proselj^te 
additions,  the  apostles  would,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
gather  in  the  little  ones  with  the  parents.     To  have 


OBJECTIONS.  109 

done  otherwise  would  have  required,  first,  a  radical 
reconstruction  of  the  Church,  and  then  a  specific 
order  to  exclude  children. 

When  one  objects  to  infant  baptism  by  saying  that 
bai)tism  is  a  sign  and  seal  of  saving  faith,  and  that 
saving  faith  should  precede  it,  he  is  obligated  to 
explain  a  difficulty  that  his  sweeping  objection  creates. 
Circumcision  is  called  ''a  seal  of  the  righteousness 
of  faith."  ^  Yet  infants  received  this  seal  before 
they  were  old  enough  to  have  faith.  On  the  same 
principle,  whatever  it  be,  they  may  receive  baptism. 
By  the  same  exegesis  and  principles  infant  baptism 
and  infant  circumcisisra  stand  or  fall  tosrether.  The 
objection  to  the  former  —  that  faith  cannot  precede  it  — 
as  a  seal  of  faith,  is  valid  against  the  latter.  So  the  ob- 
jection is  an  objection  against  fact.  It  is  an  objection 
to  what  actually  took  place,  that  infants,  who  were  not 
old  enough  to  exercise  faith,  received  the  seal  of  faith. 
Moreover,  if  want  of  belief  should  prevent  infant  ^ 
baptism,  why  should  it  not  prevent  infant  salvation, ' 
since  it  says,  "  He  that  believeth  not  shall  be  damned  "  ? 

2.  It  is  objected  that  there  is  no  command  in  the 
Bible  to  baptize  infants. 

In  the  light  of  the  facts  now  before  us,  there  would 
be  no  need  of  such  a  command  to  the  apostles.  The 
objection  goes  on  the  assumptions,  that  the  apostles 
are  about  to  organize  the  Church  of  Christ  as  a  new 
institution,  and  that  the  nature  of  Church  member- 
ship is  now  to  be  determined  for  the  first  time,  and 
that  the  rite  of  initiation  is  a  novel  one  for  the  times, 

1  Horn.  iv.  11. 


110  THE  CHURCH  AND   HER  CHH^DREN. 

and  not  interpreted  and  limited  in  the  extent  of  its 
application  by  precedent  and  daily  use. 

But  we  have  seen  that  the  Church  of  Christ  is  one 
I  from  the  days  of  Abraham,  and  continuous  through 
all  the  ages.  No  new  Church  is  formed.  David  and 
Paul  and  the  Christian  converts  on  the  day  of  Pente- 
cost are  members  of  the  same  Church,  having  the 
same  creed.  The  ancient  principle  of  membership  em- 
I  braced  the  children  of  the  adult  believer.  Changing 
one  characteristic  in  the  seal  of  membership  would 
<not  change  this  ancient  principle,  any  more  than 
changing  the  motto  on  a  government  seal  would 
change  the  import  and  power  of  the  seal. 

We  have  seen,  too,  that  our  Saviour  took  an  exist- 
ing and  common  rite,  by  which  the  Jews  admitted 
proselytes  to  Judaism,  and  promoted  it  to  be  the 
introductory  rite  to  the  Christian  Church. 

When  the  Jews  used  this  rite,  initiating  a  Gentile 

parent,  they  invariably  applied  it  to  his  little   ones. 

So  far,  then,  this   would   be  a  happy  ordinance   to 

rcome  in  the  place  of  circumcision,  since  it  embraced 

the  children  of  believers,  as  circumcision  had  done. 

When,  therefore,  Christ  commanded  his  apostles  to 
baptize,  what  need  was  there  to  command  in  an 
especial  manner  the  baptism  of  children  ?  Instead 
of  allowing  this  objection  any  force,  it  reall}^  turns 
on  those  moving  it.  Considering  all  the  circumstances 
in  the  times  of  the  apostles,  there  should  have  been 
a  special  command  to  exclude  children  from  bap- 
tism, if  it  was  not  designed  to  have  them  included ; 
for,  if  nothing  were  said,  the  presumption  would  be 
totally  for  their  baptism.     So  the  very  silence  of  our 


OBJECTIONS.  Ill 

Lord,  tliat  is  made  the  ground  of  this  objection,  is 
virtually  an  affirmation  of  an  existing  command  to 
embrace  the  children,  and  an  approbation  and  adop- 
tion of  an  existing  practice  that  did  embrace  them. 

3.  It  is  objected  that  baptism  is  a  seal  of  personal 
righteousness  or  true   piety,  and  so  an  unconscious' 
infant  cannot  properly  receive  it. 

The  objection  misapprehends  the  nature  of  the 
ordinance.  Baptism  is  more  a  rite  of  dedication  than 
of  confession.  The  person  or  thing  receiving  the 
ordinance  is  thus  sacredly  set  apart  for  God,  as, 
when  one  is  baptized  in  the  name  of  the  Fitther  and 
of  the  Son  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  name  of  the  j 
sacred  Trinit}^  is  called  and  set  upon  him,  as  a  mark  ' 
of  new  ownership. 

It  is  also  a  purifying  rite  ceremonially,  expressive  of 
the  fact  that  what  is  about  to  be  given  to  God  should 
be  first  purified.  It  is  also  a  rite  representative  of  that 
inward  purification  in  which  the  Holy  Spirit  in  re- 
generation dedicates  the  subject  acceptably  to  God. 

Now,  as  baptism  serves  as  a  rite  of  dedication,  as 
well  as  for  other  purposes,  it  will  at  once  be  seen  that 
an  unconscious  babe  may  be  the  subject  of  it.  For  a 
believing  father  or  mother  has  the  right  to  dedicate  a 
child  to  God.  All  Christian  parents  agree  in  this. 
They  differ  only  in  the  mode  of  doing  it.  One  mode, 
and,  as  we  think,  a  mode  appointed  of  God,  is  bap- 
tism. God  asks  the  gift  of  the  child,  that  it  may  be 
his  and  bear  his  name.  And,  as  a  child  is  above  all 
other  wealth  and  worth,  how  fitting,  when  one  makes 
a  complete  dedication  of  all  he  has  to  God,  that  the 
only  immortal  gift  in  the  collected  and  total  offering 


112  THE   CHUECH  AND   HER   CHILDREN. 

should  be  dedicated  with  a  peculiar  ceremony  and 
seal! 

4.  It  is  objected  that  in  infant  baptism  the  child 
has  no  understanding  of  the  rite,  and  gives  no  assent 
to  it. 

This  is  true,  even  as  it  should  be.  In  a  proper 
Christian  state  of  society,  when  all  heads  of  families 
are  converted  and  professing  Christians,  baptism  is  an 
ordinance  not  to  be  understood  or  assented  to  by  the 
subjects  of  it.  Strictly  and  properly,  baptism  in  the 
Christian  Church  belongs  only  to  an  infant,  as  cir- 
cumcision in  the  Jewish  Church. 

In  tlie  normal  use  of  baptism,  it  is  a  parental  duty 
by  which  an  immortal  is  dedicated  to  God.  It  classes 
among  those  duties  that  are  to  be  done  for  another,  and 
not  by  the  person  receiving  the  act.  Adult  baptism 
is  a  necessity  created  by  a  failure  in  parental  duty. 
The  parents  of  such  an  adult  ought  to  have  been 
godly,  and  to  have  given  their  child  to  God  in  this 
ordinance.  Failing  in  this,  the  adult  baptism  is  a 
necessity  to  cover  a  defect.  It  is  irregular  and  abnor- 
mal. 

The  case  of  circumcision  sets  this  objection  in  its 
true  light,  and  shows  the  true  time  and  place  for  bap- 
tism.    The  only  regular  and  proper  subject  of  cir- 

^  cumcision  was  an  infant.  It  was  no  rite  for  him  to 
understand,  or  assent  to.  It  was  a  parent's  duty  to 
God  for  the  child ;  and,  had  the  whole  family  of  man 
become  the  people  of  God  before  circumcision  was 
abandoned,  adult  circumcision  would  have  been  im- 

'  possible  and  unknown.  In  its  original  and  legitimate 
design  it  did  not  belong  to  adults.     Its  application  to 


OBJECTIONS.  113 

them  was  an  exception  to  tlic  law.  And  the  objec- 
tion that  infant  baptism  is  without  the  understanding 
and  assent  of  the  person  lies  equally  against  circum- 
cision. By  "covering  too  much  ground  it  destroys 
itself.  It  is  an  objection  to  a  principle  that  under- 
lies circumcision  and  baptism,  and  a  thousand  other 
acts  that  we  perform  for  a  child,  —  the  principle  that 
we  may  and  often  must  act  for  the  child  without  its 
assent.  Baptism,  when  properly  administered  as  to 
time,  that  is,  in  infancy,  is  simply  and  only  the  act 
of  a  parent ;  and  it  is  no  more  necessary  that  the 
child  comprehend  and  agree  to  it  than  that  it  com- 
prehend and  agree  to  the  many  duties  that  God 
requires  us  to  discharge  to  our  infant  children. 
Adult  baptism  is  a  remedy  for  a  defect,  just  as  natu- 
ralization is,  in  constituting  foreigners  citizens  under 
our  government.  Were  there  no  more  who  could 
become  immigrants,  there  could  be  no  more  natu- 
ralization. The  citizenship  of  each  would  then  come 
as  a  birthright,  without  knowledge  or  assent.  And 
when  infant  baptism,  even  as  circumcision,  has  its 
proper  place  among  parental  duties,  as  God  originally 
designed,  there  will  be  no  place  for  this  irregular  and 
remedial  step  of  adult  baptism.  So  the  objection 
that  the  infant  cannot  understand  and  give  assent  to 
its  baptism  is  not  only  invalid  in  this  specific  case, 
but  it  is  subversive  of  a  fundamental  principle  in 
both  the  divine  and  the  famil}^  government. 

The  unconscious  babe  cannot  understand  or  assent 
to  the  last  will  and  testament  of  its  dying  father. 
But  it  must  not  thereby  lose  its  inheritance. 

5.  It  is  objected  that  infant  baptism  deprives  one    ^ 

-1  A*  ' 


10* 


114  THE  CHURCH  AND   HER  CHH^DREN. 

of  the  privilege  of  making  a  profession  of  religion 
for  himself. 

This  objection  is  founded  on  a  false  assumption.  It 
is  assumed  that  a  profession  of  religion  is  ma(Je  in  the 
administration  of  the  ordinance,  and  that  a  profession 
of  religion  cannot  be  made  unless  this  rite  is  admin- 
istered at  the  time.  Here  is  a  confounding:  of  two 
things  that  differ.  Baptism  is  a  rite  of  dedication. 
It  is  performed  for  a  person.  In  the  act  the  person 
is  the  passive  recipient.  He  is  the  subject.  But  in 
making  a  profession  of  religion  he  is  the  agent,  the 
actor.  The  profession  is  made  through  a  creed,  con- 
fession, and  covenant.  One  may  be  the  voluntary  or 
the  involuntary  subject  of  a  dedication  to  God  ;  but  a 
profession  of  religion  is  a  cordial  consent  to  such  a 
dedication.  It  is  the  personal  declaration  of  one's 
religious  faith,  feelings,  and  purposes.  In  baptism  one 
is  given  to  God.  He  may  be  conscious  of  being 
given  as  an  adult,  or  unconscious  as  an  infant.  If 
the  former,  he  is  not  a  professor  by  receiving  the 
ordinance,  unless  he  has  made  a  declaration  of  his 
religious  doctrines,  experiences,  and  purposes.  If  an 
unconscious  infant,  it  remains  for  the  child  to  ratify 
the  dedication  in  coming  years,  and  give  in  his  adhe- 
sion to  Christ  and  his  gospel.  When  he  does  that, 
he  makes  a  profession  of  religion.  He  has  been  pre- 
viously dedicated,  and  bears  the  seal  of  the  act. 

The  objection,  moreover,  lies  on  the  strange  as- 
sumption, that  all  who  come  into  the  Church  on  a 
profession  of  faith,  having  received  only  infant  bap- 
tism, are  not  professors  of  religion  by  any  personal 
act  of  their  own.     The  bare   statement  of  such  an 


OBJECTIONS.  •      115 

assumption  refutes  the  objection.  All  nominally  in 
the  Christian  Church,  having  received  none  but 
infant  baptism,  are  reckoned  and  lield  as  professors 
of  religion  in  fact  and  form,  because  they  made  a 
public  profession.  By  the  one  voice  of  common  con- 
sent they  are  called  professors.  Yet  they  were  not 
constituted  such  by  infant  baptism.  Though  bap- 
tized in  infancy,  if  they  had  made  no  personal  confes- 
sion of  Christ  when  they  came  to  years  of  discretion, 
they  would  not  be  regarded  as  professors  of  religion. 
They  became  such  by  a  personal  and  a  subsequent 
act. 

There  are  many  ten  thousands  in  our  congrega- 
tions who  were  baptized  in  infancy,  and  yet  no  one 
calls  them  professors  of  religion.  They  have  been 
solemnly  given  to  God  by  their  believing  parents. 
They  have  received  the  appointed  rite  of  dedication. 
They  properly  belong  to  God,  and  are  in  the  genera- 
tion of  his  people.  But  they  have  not  confessed  into 
the  faith  of  Abraham.  They  have  not  publicly 
received  Christ  as  a  personal  Saviour,  and  his  teach- 
ing as  their  rule  of  life.  When  they  do  this  the  act 
will  be  a  profession  of  religion.  The  public  and 
common  voice  of  all  denominations  will  say,  that  in 
that  personal  confession  of  Christ  they  made  a  pro- 
fession of  religion. 

Now,  all  this  common  and  public  judgment  shows 
two  things.  First,  that  infant  baptism  is  not  regarded 
as  a  profession  of  religion,  and  secondly,  that  it  does 
not  stand  in  the  way  of  making  a  profession,  when 
an  adult  inclines  so  to  do. 

So  the  parental  duty  of  infant  dedication  does  in 


lib  THE  CHURCH  AND  HER   CHTLDREF. 

no  way  interfere  with  the  personal  duty  and  privilege, 
in  conscious  and  adult  years,  of  professing  Christ. 

And,  moreover,  the  assumption,  that  infant  baptism 
deprives  one  of  the  privilege  of  making  a  profession 
of  religion  for  himself,  is  against  the  judgment  and 
practice  of  the  Christian  Church  as  a  body.  It  is 
true  that  truth  and  right  have  no  particular  fellow- 
ship with  numbers,  nor  are  they  determined  b}^  ma- 
jorities. Yet  the  acceptance  of  a  Christian  principle 
or  policy,  by  the  Church  of  Christ  as  a  bod}^,  must 
and  should  have  its  moral  weight  in  determining  the 
correctness  of  that  principle  or  polic5^  In  this  coun- 
try more  than  three-fourths  of  the  Christian  Church, 
embracing  all  denominations,  have  the  theory  and 
practice  of  Infant  Baptism.  And  they  do  not  regard  it 
as  displacing,  or  interfering  with  a  personal  profession 
of  religion,  when  the  baptized  infant  arrives  at  adult 
years.  And  this  remark  is  true  of  nineteen-twentieths 
of  those  connected  with  the  Christian  denominations 
in  Great  Britain.  And  it  is  well  known  that  the  same 
views  are  held  by  the  Greek  Church,  the  Romish 
Church,  and  the  Armenian  and  Sja^an  Churches.  So 
that  in  the  aggregate  of  Christendom  it  is  but  a  very 
small  number  who  feel  the  objection  that  we  are  now 
considering,  that  infant  baptism  interferes  with  the 
liberty  of  a  personal  profession  of  religion.  It  is  very 
true  that  this  citation  of  numbers  and  authorities  is 
not  proof  absolute.  But  it  shows  that  the  judgment 
of  the  Christian  world  is  against  the  assumption  in  this 
objection,  and  affirms  the  position  that  one  who  has 
received  infant  baptism  is  as  free  to  profess  Christ  as 
is  the  one  who  never  received  it. 


OBJECTIONS.  117 

G.  It  is  objected  that  if  Infant  Baptism  comes  in  to 
fill  tlie  office  of  infant  circumcision,  it  ought  to  bo 
limited  to  the  subjects  of  circumcision,  that  is,  male 
chiklren. 

The  inclusion  of  females  in  the  initiatory  rite  to 
the  Christian  Church  was  a  fruit  of  the  centuries. 
Among  the  Eastern  nations,  in  the  ages  before  Christ, 
woman  had  no  equal,  or  even  prominent  position  with 
man.  Individuality  and  personal  responsibility  did 
not  attach  to  lier  as  to  man.  In  matters  of  a  civil, 
social,  and  religious  miture,  woman  was  reckoned 
without  consultation,  and,  by  silent  consent,  with  the 
husband  or  father  or  elder  brother,  or  nearest  male 
kin.  An  obscure  and  inferior  place  was  assigned  to 
woman,  even  from  birth.  While  the  male  infant  was 
Avelcomed  with  exultation  and  rejoicing,  a  quiet  grat- 
itude or  ill-concealed  disappointment  welcomed  the 
female  ;  and  the  Chinese  proverb  was  a  fair  expres- 
sion of  the  feelings  of  the  Orientals  on  this  point : 
''  He  is  happiest  in  daughters  Avho  has  only  sons."  ^ 

1  The  foUoAving  extract,  from  an  Oriental  correspondent  will  shed 
nmcli  light  on  the  question  before  us :  — 

"One  day  I  called  on  an  old  Mohammedan  in  Tripoli;  and,  as  I 
entered  the  outer  door,  I  saw  some  little  girls  and  some  larger  ones, 
running  towards  the  women's  rooms  to  get  out  of  my  way.  A  boy 
who  was  with  me  said  that  they  w^ere  the  daughters  of  the  old  man. 
As  I  came  into  the  room  where  he  was,  he  arose  from  his  cushion  on 
the  floor,  placed  liis  right  hand  on  his  forehead,  and  then  on  his 
breast,  and,  ])owing  very  gracefully,  said,  'May  your  morning  be 
blessed,  your  Excellency!    Peace  to  your  life  ! ' 

"In  a  few  moments  a  servant-boy  brought  little  cups  of  jet-black 
coffee,  without  sugar  or  milk;  and  after  I  had  taken  a  cup,  and  said 
a  few  words  to  the  old  white-bearded  Moslem,  I  asked  him  how 
many  children  he  had.  He  replied  at  once,  '  1  have  no  children  at 
aU.' 


118     THE  CHUECH  AND  HER  CHILDREN. 

While  the  adoption  of  sons  was  common  among  the 
Jews,  tlie  Bible  gives  no  instance  of  the  adoption 
of  a  daughter.  The  practice  of  polygamy  and  concu- 
binage, so  common  in  the  irregularities  of  the  patri- 
archs and  of  the  Jewish  nation,  shows  woman  on  this 
same  low  grade.  For  the  hardness  of  their  hearts,  and 
the  general  degeneracy  of  those  times,  God  suffered 
and  tolerated  this  relative  depression,  and  at  times 
ignoring,  of  woman.  And,  in  his  institutes  for  his  peo- 
ple, he  regarded  this  popular  estimate  of  woman.  He 
accommodated  his  administration  to  the  times  and  to 
the  notions  of  his  people.  In  the  same  spirit  and 
policy  of  accommodation  to  a  sensuous  age,  he  made 
his  worship  and  the  religious  services  generally  to 
partake  of  what  was  visible,  terrible,  and  impressive 
to  the  beholder.  It  was  for  a  later  dispensation  to 
introduce  a  more  spiritual  worship. 

So  in  the  spirit  and  practice  of  the  Abrahamic  and 

"Itlien  said,  'Whose  dangliters  are  those  whom  I  saw  running 
across  the  court  V ' 

"  '  Oh! '  said  he,  'those  are  mine;  but  they  are  nothing  but  f/irls  ! 

"At  another  time,  calling  on  a  Mohammedan,  I  asked  him  how 
many  cliildren  he  had  ;  and  he  replied,  'I  liave  four  sons;  but, 
praise  to  God,  I  hare  no  daughters ! ' 

"  Most  of  the  people  in  Syria  think  it  a  gi-eat  hardshij)  when  a 
daiighter  is  born;  but  when  they  become  Christians  they  tliink  more 
wisely. 

"A  few  months  ago,  an  infant  daughter  was  born  in  the  family  of 
Autonine  Yanni,  a  Protestant  in  Tripoli;  and  all  the  relatives  and 
friends  came  to  weep  with  him  on  account  of  the  dreadfid  thing 
which  had  happened  to  the  family.  The  grandmother  of  the  little 
infant  said  that  she  would  not  kiss  her  for  six  months,  because  she 
was  a  girl!  But  when  the  people  came  in,  Yanni  told  them,  'I 
do  not  wish  your  tears.  I  love  my  daughter,  and  I  hope  to  train  her 
up  to  love  the  Savicjur  and  do  good.  I  am  not  a  heathen  any  longer, 
and  a  daughter  is  as  precious  to  me  as  a  son  once  was.' " 


OBJECTIONS.  119 

Jewish  ages,  woman  was  left  in  obscurity  in  the  ini- 
tiatory rite  to  the  Church.  She  went  in  by  infer- 
ence, or  as  conjoined  to  man,  and  unreckoned 
personally,  as  a  child  goes  with  its  parents  in  a  public 
conveyance. 

But  when  Christianity  came  in,  woman  had  gained 
more  of  personality  and  isolation  as  an  individual; 
and  this  new  and  better  covenant  was  designed  to 
])lace  her  more  entirely  in  a  position  of  separateness 
and  private  responsibilty.  In  Christ  Jesus  there  was 
to  be  "  neither,  male  nor  female."  So  the  enlarged 
compass  of  the  initiatory  rite  to  the  Church  was  in 
keeping  with  the  growth  of  opinion  and  with  that  no- 
ble purpose  and  work  of  elevation  that  the  gospel 
was  to  achieve  for  woman.  Hence  the  new  seal  of 
personal  dedication  to  God  was  adopted  and  intro- 
duced of  Christ  to  mark  the  man  and  the  woman 
separately,  as  having  an  equal  personality  and  respon- 
sibility. 

Thus  Christ  would  show  a  recovery  of  the  race 
from  that  obscuration  of  woman  into  which  she  had 
fallen,  and  place  man  and  woman  on  the  common 
platform  of  a  separate  and  equal  responsibility,  and 
as  separate  and  equal  moral  heirs  to  a  common  im- 
mortality, as  it  was  in  the  beginning. 

It  should  also  be  observed  that  a  change  of  the 
seal  from  circumcision  to  baptism  was  under  no  such 
restraint  or  necessity  as  that  the  Head  of  the  Church 
could  not  enlarge  the  application  of  the  new  seal. 
How  many  and  important  changes  did  he  make,  in 
the  government  of  his  spiritual  house,  in  his  own 
right  authority.     Even  if  we  could  see  no  ajjtness  in 


120     THE  CHUBCH  AND  HEK  CHILDEEN. 

the  extended  use  of  the  new  seal,  it  would  be  our 
duty  to  receive  it,  since  his  authority  is  adequate  for 
any  variations.  So  we  conclude  that  Infant  Baptism 
may  be  said  to  fill  the  purpose  of  circumcision,  though 
it  includes  females,  and  doubles  the  original  number 
of  subjects. 

We  have  seen  that  the  changre  in  the  seal  of  the 
initiatory  rite  to  the  Church,  so  as  to  embrace  woman, 
was  a  change  in  accordance  with  the  changed  position 
of  woman  as  a  separate  and  accountable  individual 
in  society.  This  change  was  distinctly  marked  in 
the  times  of  our  Saviour. 

Take  one  section  in  the  history  of  the  Church  of 
God,  from  the  nativity  to  the  end  of  the  apostolic 
age,  about  one  hundred  years.  How  prominent  in  the 
Church  is  woman  made  in  that  century,  beginning 
with  the  annunciation  to  Elizabeth.  In  the  life  and 
labors  of  the  Saviour,  if  the  cases  of  repentance, 
faith,  and  untiring,  unfaltering,  and  daring  devotion 
to  him,  are  not  the  most  numerous,  they  are  the  most 
conspicuous,  as  recorded  of  woman.  We  find  no- 
where in  the  Gospels  illustrations  of  purer,  firmer 
faith.  The  position,  the  undying  affection,  the  sub- 
lime moral  heroism,  of  those  women  at  the  Cross  and 
at  the  sepulchre,  were  prophetic  of  the  new  relations 
in  which  woman  would  stand  to  the  interests  of  the 
kingdom  of  Christ.  They  were  prophetic,  too,  of 
those  civil  and  social  relations  of  woman,  and  her 
auxiliary  relations  to  the  great  human  and  moral  en- 
terprises, that  were  now  to  open  on  the  world. 

The  providential  position  of  those  "  many  women  " 
at  the  Cross  was  indicative  of  the   new  place   that 


OBJECTIONS.  121 

Clmstianity  was  about  to  give  to  woman.  In  the 
apostolic  age,  also,  we  find  incidental  but  significant 
allusions  to  the  fact  that  woman  was  beginning  to  fill 
her  newly  appointed  place  in  the  Christian  Church, 
and  in  the  Christian  ages. 

In  that  first  Church  meeting  of  Christian  member- 
ship, a  meeting  of  many  days'  continuance,  *'  with 
one  accord,  in  prayer  and  supplication,"  a  meeting 
heralding  the  new  and  glorious  dispensation  of  the 
Spirit,  it  was  a  meeting  ''  with  the  women."  Dorcas 
and  Damaris,  whose  hearts  the  Lord  opened,  have 
worthy  mention  by  inspired  pen,  as  concessions  of 
peculiar  importance.  And  when  Paul  and  Silas 
laid  the  Christian  foundations  of  the  Church  at  Thes- 
salonica,  the  first  membership  embraced  "  chief  ( 
women,  not  a  few."  And  it  is  an  exceedingly  in- 
teresting and  singular  fact  that  the  first  gospel  ser- 
mon that  was  preached  in  Europe  was  preached  to  a 
company  of  women.  The  place  was  the  bank  of  a 
river,  outside  the  walls  of  Philippi ;  and  the  first 
Christian  proselyte  and  convert  in  all  Europe  was  a 
woman  named  Lydia. 

How  degraded  the  condition  of  woman  at  that 
time,  on  that  dark  continent,  and  what  an  apocalypse 
of  mercy  was  to  be  opened  to  her  in  the  introduction 
of  the  gospel  I  It  was  fitting  that  the  first  hearers  of 
it  should  be  of  those  who  were  to  be  most  richly 
blessed  by  it,  and  that  the  first  convert  should  be  one 
from  those  who  were  to  share  most  amply  in  its 
mercies.  And  was  it  nothing  significant,  designed, 
and  typical,  that  the  first  case  of  baptism  in  all 
Europe  was  a  case  of  household  baptism  ?  For 
11 


122  THE  CHTXRCH  AND   HER   CHILDREN. 

Lydia  "  was  baptized,  and  her  household."  It  was 
as  if  he  who  said  to  Paul  in  vision,  "  Come  over  into 
Macedonia  and  help  us,"  had  also  said,  "  All  the 
households  of  this  benighted  continent  must  be  dedi- 
cated to  God." 

Thus,  after  the  true  Abrahamic  pattern,  the  Church 
of  Christ  was  developed  at  Philippi  on  the  family 
basis.  And  when  Paul  addressed  his  epistle  to  this 
Church,  ten  years  afterwards,  he  has  a  liveh^  remem- 
brance of  aid  in  the  gospel  that  the  women  of 
'  that  Church  rendered  ;  and  he  says,  "  Help  tliose 
women  which  labor  with  me  in  the  gospel." 

These  incidental  and  wayside  facts  concerning 
woman,  furnished  by  the  New  Testament,  show  her 
as  coming  into  a  new  light.  The  Old  Testament 
gives  her  no  such  prominence.  Evidently  a  great 
change  in  her  position  in  society  has  been  wrought, 
and  power  has  come  to  her  relief  that  promises  a 
greater.  It  was  not  the  genius  and  spirit  of  the  Old 
Testament  system  ;  it  was  not  the  feeling  or  theory 
of  the  Eastern  nations ;  it  was  reserved  for  this  last, 
perfect,  world-wide  Christian  system  to  say,  "  The 
woman  is  the  glory  of  the  man."  A  declaration  how 
nnlike  the  proverb  already  quoted,  that  was  the 
condensed  creed  of  the  Orient  on  the  relative  posi- 
tion of  woman,  "  He  is  happiest  in  daughters  who 
has  onl}^  sons." 

The  Lord  Jesus  understood  the  power  and  purpose 
of  his  gospel,  and  he  foresaw  the  wide  compass  of 
changes  that  it  would  work  for  woman.  It  was  to 
prove  an  elevating  system  for  the  sex,  and  an  equal- 
izing system  between  the  sexes.     While  nature  and 


OBJECTIONS.  123 

tlic  gospel  would  unite  to  assign  different  spheres  of 
duty  and  of  honor  for  the  two,  the  gospel,  al  his  will, 
was  to  set  forth  woman  as  the  equal  of  man  in  in- 
herent worth,  in  acquired  excellence,  in  power  for 
her  sphere,  in  importance  as  an  individual,  in  rights 
and  immunities  as  a  separate  person  before  God. 

The  gospel  assigned  to  woman  a  place  and  an  effi- 
ciency in  the  conversion  of  the  world  to  God,  that 
the  Old  Testament  economy  never  contemplated. 
We  see  this  fact  made  evident  wherever  Christianity 
is  unfolded  and  made  predominant.  In  all  the  great 
social,  moral,  and  religious  movements  of  our  day, 
the  force  that  woman  lends  to  them  is  immense.  In 
the  entire  membership  of  the  churches,  we  find  two- 
thirds  of  it  to  be  of  females.  An  individuality,  a  per- 
sonality, and  an  accountability,  now  attach  to  woman, 
to  which  the  Abrahamic  and  Mosaic  dispensations 
were  utter  strangers.  As  this  was  the  design,  so  it  is 
the  fruit,  of  Christianity. 

The  Saviour,  designing  and  foreseeing  this  changed 
and  prominent  position  of  woman,  saw  fit  to  make  a 
change  in  the  initiatory  rite  to  the  Church,  that 
would  mark  her  equality  with  man.  The  first  rite 
corresponded  with  the  spirit  and  custom  of  the  ages, 
through  which  it  continued  in  overlooking  woman. 
The  second  agrees  with  the  new  relations  in  which 
the  gospel  places  her  in  community,  as  a  person,  hav- 
ing all  the  privileges  and  responsibilities  appertaining 
thereto. 

As  master  of  ceremonies  in  his  own  house,  the 
Church,  it  was,  therefore,  for  him  to  mal^  this,  or  any 
other  change  that  seemed  good  to  him.     The  fitness 


124  THE  CHURCH  ANI>  HER  CHH^DREN. 

of  the  change  of  rites,  and  the  enlarged  application, 
in  the  case  in  question,  must  commend  itself  to  all, 
as  corresponding  with  the  change  in  the  social,  moral, 
and  religious  position  of  woman. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

CHRIST   AND   THE    CHILDREN. 

"/^F  such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven."  The  phrases, 
v^  "  kingdom  of  heaven,"  and  ''  kingdom  of  God," 
are  frequently  used  in  the  New  Testament.  There 
is  also  several  times  introduced  the  expression  ''  the 
kingdom  of  Christ,"  or  its  equivalent.  These  three 
phrases  have  tlie  same  general  import. 

The  meaning  and  pliraseology  are  brought  forward 
into  the  New  Testament  from  the  Old.  And  they 
mean  the  spiritual  kingdom  of  the  Messiah.  Many 
of  the  Jews  had  attributed  to  this  reign  of  Christ 
a  personal,  civil,  and  temporal  character.  He  was  to 
be  king  of  the  Jews,  visible,  triumpliant,  and  glo- 
rious, above  all  the  glories  that  attach  to  any  earthly 
monarch.  But  the  more  devout  Jews,  as  Zacharias 
and  Simeon,  Anna  the  prophetess,  and  Joseph,^  had 
the  spiritual,  and  what  is  now  common  view,  of  the 
reign  of  Christ.  It  was  to  be  a  reign  without  any 
civil  organization  or  geographical  limits.  And,  so 
far  as  it  had  any  visible  embodiment,  it  was  merely 
as  a  means  of  showing  its  spiritual,  religious,  and 
heavenly  origin  and  character.     The  true  nature  of 

1  Luke  i.  67,  ii.  25,  3G,  xxiii.  50-51. 
11*  125 


126  THE   CHUKCH  AND   HER   CHILDREN. 

this  kingdom,  St.  Paul  defines  when  he  says,  "  The 
kingdom  of  God  is  not  meat  and  drink,  but  righteous- 
ness and  peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost."  And 
herein  he  but  follows  the  teaching  of  the  King  him- 
self: "The  kingdom  of  God  cometh  not  with  out- 
ward show.  Neither  shall  they  say,  Lo,  here  !  or,  Lo, 
there !  For,  behold,  the  kingdom  of  God  is  within 
you."  Hence  those  words  to  Nicodemus,  and  re- 
peated so  emphatically  :  "  Verily,  verily,  I  sa}^  unto 
thee,  except  a  man  be  born  of  water,  and  of  the 
Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God.' 

The  only  external  and  visible  manifestation  of  this 
kingdom,  as  an  organization  on  earth,  the  Saviour 
set  forth  in  the  Church.  Into  it  he  designed  to 
gather  his  friends,  followers,  and  subjects.  His  peo- 
ple, as  distinct  from  those  of  any  other  kingdom  or 
prince,  were  to  be  embodied  in  this  holy  community. 
It  is  the  only  visible  constitution  of  a  kingdom  that 
he  has  here.  It  is,  under  a  modified  and  Christian- 
ized form,  the  continuation,  from  the  days  of  pat- 
riarchs and  prophets,  of  the  visible  gathering  and 
manifestation  of  the  people  of  God. 

We  are  to  bear  in  mind  that  the  only  kingdom 
that  God  has  attempted  to  establish  in  this  world, 
since  the  apostacy,  is  Messianic.  It  stands  on  the 
theory  and  work  of  Redemption.  Christ,  as  its  glo- 
rious Head,  commenced  its  organization  in  that  first 
promise  to  our  fallen  parents.  And  the  production 
of  a  people,  from  age  to  age,  to  serve  him,  was  but 
giving  a  practical  and  visible  effect  to  the  purjoose 
and  plan  of  a  spiritual  kingdom  on  earth.  And  the 
Saviour   declares   this  whole    truth,  when   he   says, 


CHRIST   AND   THE   CHILDREN.  127 

"  lie  tliat  is  not  with  me  is  against  mc,  and  lie  that 
gathereth  not  with  me  scattereth  abroad."  Herein 
he  chiims  to  himself  a  party  and  a  leadership  in  it, 
and  at  the  same  time  he  classes  all  others  in  a  party 
op])oscd  to  him.  And  these  two  parties  exhaust  the 
human  family. 

This  party,  this  kingdom  of  Christ,  has  heen  one 
aud  the  same  in  all  time  hitherto.  In  the  ages  of 
l)atriarchs  and  prophets,  during  those  many  centuries 
before  Christ,  all  who  belonged  to  his  party,  to  this 
"  kingdom  of  God,"  were  aggregated  in  the  Church 
of  God.  The  Church  had  not  then  that  sharply  de- 
fined spiritual  border  which  we  now  assign  to  a  par- 
ticular and  local  Church.  It  had  many  nominal,  as 
well  as  actual  believers,  wise  and  foolish  virgins, 
tares  and  wheat. 

Such  was  the  nature,  composition,  and  visible  mani- 
festation of  "  the  kingdom  of  Gotl,"  when  they 
brought  3'oung  children  to  Christ.  We  are  now 
to  remember  that  these  children,  thus  brought  to 
the  Saviour,  were  Jewish  children,  and  so  church- 
members.  They  were  nominally  members  of  the 
kingdom  of  God.  As  such  Christ  owns  them,  and 
defends  their  privilege  and  right  to  be  brought 
to  him,  as  the  real  Head  of  that  kingdom,  for  his 
blessing.  We  have  no  evidence  that  these  children 
were  peculiar  for  any  spiritual  traits,  or  were  after 
any  manner  different  from  the  thousands  of  others  in 
the  region,  that  they  were  thus  brought  to  Christ. 
There  is  no  evidence  that  they  were  regenerated 
children,  or  had  any  thing  more  to  commend  them  to 
the  favor  of  the  Saviour  than  the  common  amiabili- 


128  THE  CHURCH  AND   HER   CHILDREN. 

ties  of  childhood,  excepting  their  relation  to  this 
"  kingdom." 

They  were  Jewish  children,  and  so  members  of  the 
^  Church,  according  to  its  Abrahamic  constitution,  and 
the  uniform  practice  of  God's  ancient  people.  This 
membership  the  Saviour  recognizes  and  declares, 
when  he  says,  ''  Of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven." 
"  As  the  only  visible  kingdom  of  God  on  earth,  its 
terms  of  membership  include  these,  and  they  should 
not  be  withheld  from  my  notice  and  favor,  the  only 
visible  Head  of  this  kingdom  on  earth."  And  when 
his  disciples  rebuked  those  who  brought  them  "  he 
was  much  displeased."  It  was  an  interference  with 
the  relations  that  God  had  constituted  between  his 
kingdom  and  the  little  children,  that  he  did  not 
like.  And  he  rebuked  it.  Such  an  exclusion  of  the 
children  of  believers  from  immemorial  Church  privi- 
leges merited  his  rebuke  ;   and  he  gave  it. 

Some  have  su2:>posed  that  the  Saviour  is  here 
speaking  of  the  heavenly  kingdom,  or  state  of  the 
blessed  in  glory.  But,  as  ordinary  children,  could  he 
make  this  affirmation  of  them  ?  Or  could  he  say 
that  others  should  enter  heaven  who  were  like  these 
children,  when  at  the  time  these  children  may  have 
been  destitute  of  the  distinguishing  mark  that  quali- 
fies for  heaven,  namely,  the  ncAv  heart  ? 

If,  however,  he  does  here  declare  their  certainty  of 
membership  in  the  kingdom  of  glory,  much  more 
may  we  suppose  he  would  allow  their  membership  in 
his  kingdom,  or  Church,  on  earth. 

Others  have  supposed  that  the  Saviour  did  not 
intend   to   teach   that   these   children  were  actually 


CHRIST   AND   THE  CHILDREN.  129 

members  of  his  kingdom,  but  only  that  adults  who 
liave  qualities  like  them  could  be  members.  But 
can  we  suppose  that  adults  would  be  admitted  to 
membership  because  they  reseml)led  children  in  cer- 
tain particulars,  while  the  children  themselves  would 
be  excluded?  Likeness  to  a  child  the  ground  of 
admission,  and  the  child  itself  denied  ?  We  see  no 
reason  for  this  ;  nor  do  we  believe  that  the  Saviour 
meant  to  teach  such  a  principle.  The  kingdom  of 
heaven,  he  says,  has  in  it  such  persons  as  these. 

Moreover,  that  the  children  themselves  were  to  be 
included  in  the  membership  is  evident  from  the  use 
of  the  word  rendered  "  of  such,"  — rojv  yun  roiovrcov.  It 
includes  the  person  or  thing  referred  to,  as  a  speci- 
men or  representative  of  a  class.  A  few  cases  will 
make  this  evident.  "  Whoso  shall  receive  one  such 
little  child  in  my  name  receiveth  me  :  "  ^  here  the 
little  child,  whom  others  must  be  like  to  enter  the 
kingdom  of  heaven,  is  itself  received  of  Christ. 
"  And  with  many  such  parables  spake  he  the  word 
unto  them  :  "  ^  Here  "  such  parables  "  refers  to  those 
just  spoken,  and  so  includes  them.  "  The  hour 
cometh,  and  now  is,  when  the  true  worshippers  shall 
worship  the  Father  in  spirit  and  in  truth ;  for  the 
Father  seeketh  such  to  worship  him  :  "  *  here  "  such  " 
refers  to  the  true  worshippers  mentioned,  who  are 
of  course  included.  "  Ye  rejoice  in  your  boastings  : 
all  such  rejoicing  is  evil:"^  this  boasting  specified 
is  evil,  and  every  other  like  it.  Demetrius  the 
silversmith  called   the  craftsmen  together  "  with  the 

2  Matt,  xviii.  5.    8  Mark  iv.  33.    4  joi^u  iy.  23.    5  James  iv.  16. 


130  THE   CHURCH  AND  HER  CHH^DREN. 

workmen  of  like  [such]  occupation :  "  ^  here  his 
own  and  their  occupations  are  included  as  branches 
of  the  one  business  of  makins^  shrines  for  Diana. 
These  cases  of  illustration  might  be  very  much 
multiplied,  showing  that  the  words  "  of  such  "  in- 
clude the  person  or  thing  in  question,  as  well  as 
those  similar.  And  so  we  conclude,  that,  whatever 
the  kingdom  or  membership  obtained  by  those  who 
are  like  little  children,  these  children  obtain  the  same. 
They  are  included  in  the  favor  that  adults  obtain  by 
being  like  them. 

•  Actsxix.  25. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


THE  SILENCE  OF   CHRIST. 


THE  ancient  Church  of  God  embraced  the  chil- 
dren of  its  members.  From  Abraham  to  Christ 
this  was  a  principle  and  a  practice.  Since  the  most 
of  its  members  entered  it  in  infancy,  it  was  a  body, 
primarily,  of  children.  They  grew  up  in  it ;  and  tlie 
waste  made  by  death  was  repaired  by  their  continual 
addition. 

Suppose,  now,  that  this  principle  and  usage  are  to 
be  changed  in  the  Christian  form  of  the  Church  ;  that 
children  are  to  be  excluded,  and  only  {idults  admitted  : 
would  the  Saviour  have  so  insisted  on  their  member- 
ship in  it,  as  has  been  shown  in  the  last  chapter? 
He  is  among  a  Jewish  population,  and  before  a 
Jewish  audience,  who,  with  their  households,  are 
members  of  the  Church.  If  a  change  is  about  to  be 
made  in  the  basis  of  membership,  they  are  greatly 
concerned  to  know  it.  So  radical  a  reconstruction 
of  its  constitution  ab(mt  to  be  made,  and  the  relations 
of  children  to  it  about  to  be  so  totally  changed, 
would  the  Saviour  have  said  notliing  to  imply  the 
change  ?  His  treatment  of  the  children  in  this  case 
implies  more  than  a  silent  ai)probation  of  the  ancient 
custom  concerning  their  membership.     He  virtually 

131 


132  THE  CHURCH  AND   HER  CHH^DREN. 

pleads  for  it.  He  remonstrates  against  their  exclu- 
sion. 

If  he  were  about  to  institute  a  new  order  of  things 
in  the  Church,  and  omit  the  children,  would  he  have 
neglected  so  fitting  an  opportunity  to  unfold  or  inti- 
mate the  new  policy  ? 

And,  after  he  had  shown  this  marked  disapproval 
of  their  overlooking  the  children,  how  could  the 
disciples  afterward  assume  to  exclude  them  from 
theu'  ancient  right  and  place,  without  the  most  spe- 
cific command?  If  they  were  to  be  dropped  in 
making  up  the  membership  of  the  Christian  Church, 
the  difference  between  it  and  the  ancient  Church 
would  be  very  great.  So  radical  and  wide-reaching 
a  change  would  be  worthy  of  a  particular  specifica- 
tion and  order  from  the  Head  of  the  Church. 

Yet  this  so  fitting  occasion  for  it  goes  by,  not  only 
without  the  intimation  of  any  change,  but  with  a 
treatment  of  children  in  their  relations  to  the  king- 
dom that  must  accord  most  fully  with  the  high-toned 
conservatism  of  a  Jew  in  the  matter.  If  a  new 
policy  concerning  children  did  come  into  the  Church, 
this  was  the  transition  period.  This  occasion  not 
only  invited,  but  seemed  to  demand,  an  allusion  to  it. 
And,  if  the  change  were  taking  place,  the  silence  of 
the  Saviour  on  it  at  this  time  is  unaccountable.  But 
assume  that  no  change  was  taldng  place  in  their  rela- 
tions to  the  Church,  and  his  entire  treatment  of  these 
children,  and  of  those  who  opposed  their  presentation, 
is  perfectly  natural,  and  accordant  with  the  policy 
and  practice  of  ages. 

Consider  the  silence  of  our  Lord  on  this  great  issue 


THE    SILENCE  OF   CHRIST.  "         133 

ill  another  case.  When  about  to  leave  tlie  woild,  he 
commands  his  apostles  to  go  abroad,  make  disciples, 
and  baptize  them.  We  have  already  considered  how 
they  would  naturally  and  necessarily  understand  this 
command.  For  their  only  knowledge  of  baptism  was 
gained  from  its  practice  among  the  Jews,  and  in  the  in- 
troduction of  proselytes  to  Judaism.  And  in  this  prac- 
tice the  children  of  the  adult  proselyte  were  baptized 
as  a  matter  of  course.  It  was  not  an  open  question 
"whether  they  should  be.  And  so,  with  no  qualifica- 
tions or  exceptions  in  the  command,  they  would  nat- 
urally and  necessarily,  in  baptizing  an  adult  proselyte 
to  Christianity,  include  in  the  rite  his  children,  if  he 
had  any. 

Considering,  therefore,  this  common  practice  in 
Jud?ea,  when  the  Saviour  gave  his  last  command,  and 
seeing  the  obvious  and  natural  interpretation  that  tlie 
apostles  would  give  to  it,  the  omission  of  every  qualify- 
ing or  limiting  clause  in  it  touching  children  is  sig- 
nificant. 

It  may  be  said  that  the  command  limits  the  rite  to 
believers.  This  is  true,  while  yet  it  does  not  touch 
the  question  of  the  baptism  of  children.  For  prose- 
lyte baptism,  without  other  instruction,  was  the 
model  for  the  apostles.  In  administering  it,  the 
Jews  were  limited  by  command  to  baptize  only 
believers  in  Judaism.  This  command  to  them  was 
as  strict  as  the  command  of  Christ  to  the  apostles  to 
baptize  only  believers.  Yet  they  always  included 
the  children  of  the  believers  when  they  baptized  a 
proselyte.  So  the  apostles  would  naturally  do  the 
same;  and  so  the  command  to  baptize  only  bcliev- 

12 


134  THE  CHUECH  AND   HER  CHILDREN. 

ers  is  no  limitation  of  the  command  touching  chil- 
dren. 

The  omission  of  the  Saviour,  therefore,  to  qualify  or 
limit  the  command  by  some  reference  for  the  exclu- 
sion of  children  is  a  very  emphatic  omission.  The 
inference,  in  the  circumstances,  that  they  would  be 
included  unless  specifically  excluded,  becomes  an 
index  to  his  purpose  to  retain  for  them  the  relation 
to  the  Church  that  they  had  had  from  time  immemo- 
rial. If  he  said  nothing  to  prevent  an  obvious  con- 
clusion from  known  facts  and  common  practices,  then 
we  must  not  turn  aside  from  the  obvious  conckision 
that  he  designed  that  inference  to  be  drawn.  For 
we  must  remember  the  common  practice  and  rule  of 
interpretation,  —  that  changes,  variations  from  usage, 
and  not  the  continuance  of  a  usage,  call  for  remark. 
Silence  leaves  a  rite  or  custom  undisturbed  in  its 
continuance.  Its  modification,  specially  if  it  be 
radical,  is  what  is  spoken  of.  It  is  the  new,  not  the 
old,  that  occasions  remark. 

We  revise  some  of  the  statutes  of  the  State  at 
each  session  of  the  legislature.  The  law  or  section  of 
which  nothing^  is  said  holds  over  with  full  force  and 
without  any  allusion.  The  ancient  and  original 
statute  concerning  admissions  to  the  Church  of  God 
provides  for  and  requires  the  admission  of  the  chil- 
dren of  the  adult  member.  In  the  transition  period 
of  this  one  Church  from  the  old  to  the  new  dispensa- 
tion, the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  Head  of  the  Church, 
revises  this  statute  of  admission  so  far  as  to  make 
baptism  take  the  place  of  circumcision  :  so,  where 
the  statute  formerly  read  "  circumcise,"  it  is  changed 
to  read  "  baptize." 


THE   SILENCE   OF   CHRIST.  135 

Makincf  no  otlier  chcansje  in  the  statnte,  what 
remains  nnchangcd  liolJs  over  with  full  force  under 
the  new  dispensation  ;  and  so  the  present  divine 
Liw  of  admission  provides  for  and  requires  the  admis- 
sion of  tlie  cliihh'en  of  the  adult  member,  the  silence 
of  the  lawgiver  implying  no  change. 

Viewing,  therefore,  tlie  common  use  made  of  bap- 
tism, when  our  Saviour  took  it  up  from  among  tlie  Jews, 
and  adopted  it  as  tlie  substitute  for  circumcision  in 
the  new  dispensation,  and  regarding  the  views  that 
the  apostles  must  naturally  and  necessarily  have  had 
of  their  application  of  the  rite  under  the  last  com- 
mand of  Christ,  we  cannot  but  regard  that  command, 
thus  given  without  qualification  or  limitation,  as 
binding  and  intending  to  bind  the  apostles  to  the 
doctrine  and  practice  of  Infant  Baptism.  Previous 
practices  in  the  Church,  and  those  common  and  daily 
practices  among  the  Jews,  and  all  the  attendant  cir- 
cumstances, demand  a  specified  omission  and  exclusion 
of  the  cliildren,  if  they  were  to  be  omitted.  The 
argument  on  this  question  demands  that  those  who 
deny  infant  baptism  should  show  where  it  is  pro- 
hibited. All  the  facts  we  have  adduced  show  that 
it  comes  as  a  matter  of  course  from  the  circumstances 
of  the  times,  and  the  command  of  our  Lord.  The 
children  havini]:  been  alwavs  included  aforetime  in 
God's  Church  econom}^  if  they  are  now  to  be  cast 
out,  in  this  transition  from  the  old  to  the  new  dispen- 
sation, they  wlio  affirm  it  assume  the  burden  of 
proof,  and  must  show  by  what  command  or  lawful 
inference  they  are  rejected.  It  is  Christ  who  says, 
"  Forbid  them  not." 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE    POSITION  OF   THE  APOSTLES. 

IN  a  scriptural  inquiry  concerning  the  doctrine  and 
practice  of  infant  baptism,  it  is  very  important 
to  learn  what  was  usage  with  the  apostles.  We  now 
open  this  branch  of  the  general  subject ;  and  in 
doing  this  it  is  necessary  to  remember,  while  we 
proceed,  a  few  facts.  By  keeping  these  facts  before 
us,  we  shall  place  ourselves  in  the  position  and  cir- 
cumstances of  the  apostles,  and  so  be  the  better  able 
to  judge  of  their  doctrine  and  practice  in  this  thing. 

We  must  remember,  then,  that  household  baptism 
was  a  common  practice  in  the  times  of  the  apostles, 
and  among  their  own  people  the  Jews,  before  the 
manifestation  of  the  Christian  Church.  They  grew 
up  in  the  sight  of  this  usage.  The  baptism  of  chil- 
dren was  familiar  to  them  from  their  own  childhood. 
It  was  administered  to  the  little  ones  of  a  proselyte 
as  a  matter  of  course.  So,  from  the  very  source  and 
practice  whence  they  derived  their  ideas  of  baptism  at 
all,  they  took  also  the  idea,  that,  when  it  was  applied 
to  an  adult  believer  in  Judaism,  it  was  also  to  be  ap- 
plied to  his  children,  so  far  as  they  could  yet  be  re- 
garded as  infants. 

We  must  also  remember  that  they  had  no  concep- 

136 


THE   rOSITION   OF  THE  APOSTLES.  137 

lion  or  expectation  of  a  new  Church.  The  ancient 
Church  of  Crod  was  to  be  continued  as  a  matter  of 
course.  The  gracious,  promised,  and  prophesied 
time  of  its  enlargement  had  come,  when  the  Gentiles 
should  flow  unto  it.  Instead  of  any  new  tabernacle, 
Zion  was  to  lengthen  her  cords  and  strengthen  her 
stakes,  and  so  enlarge  the  covering  of  her  tent  for  all 
the  nations.  The  old  ''  olive-tree  "  was  to  be  pre- 
served, and  Gentile  grafts  inserted.  Even  the  Jewish 
limbs  that  had  been  broken  off  by  unbelief  were  to 
be  recovered,  and  ^'  graffed  into  their  own  olive- 
tree."  ^  So  in  that  first  apostolic  preaching,  under 
the  last  commission,  and  in  the  first  Christian  revival, 
the  promise  of  mercy  for  the  latter  days  is  interpreted 
to  cover  Jews.  And  when  those  three  thousand,  a 
mixed  multitude  of  Jews  ''  out  of  every  nation  under 
heaven,"  received  Christ  and  Christian  baptism,  and 
"  the  same  day  were  added  unto  them,"  —  the  com- 
pany of  apostles  and  disciples,  —  they  were  those 
broken  branches  "  graffed  into  their  own  olive-tree 
again."  These  were  the  first  professors  of  religion  that 
the  apostles  received  into  the  Church.  And  they  were 
received  into  "their  own  olive-tree,"  the  ancient, 
original  Church  of  God.  To  this  same  body  the 
apostles  added  all  their  other  converts,  Jewish  and 
Gentile.  To  the  Jew  it  was  his  own,  the  Jewish 
Church,  and  to  the  Gentile  it  was  the  Christian 
Cliurch.  So  we  see  that  both  were  but  different 
names  and  dispensations  of  one  and  the  same  body. 
This  Pentecostal  revival  and  ingathering  of  con- 


1  Ttom.  xi.  17-24. 
12* 


138     THE  CHURCH  AND  HER  CHILDREN. 

verts  was  the  time  to  constitute  and  set  forth  a  new 
Church,  if  any  such  thing  was  to  be  ever  done.  This 
was  the  beginning,  properly,  of  Christian  preaching. 
Christian  baptism,  and  Christian  profession  of  re- 
ligion. But  the  three  thousand  converts  went  into 
"their  own"  Church,  the  ancient  "  olive-tree  "  of 
God  ;  and  all  converts  under  the  apostles  followed 
them.     So  no  new  Church  was  ever  constituted. 

Then  we  must  remember,  too,  in  this  connection, 
that  the  children  of  believers  were  also  included  in 
this  ancient  Church.  The  apostles  not  only  knew 
this  to  be  universal  practice,  but  that  it  was  an  essen- 
tial in  the  constitution  and  usage  of  the  body.  Nay, 
more:  they  knew  that  they  themselves  had  come  into 
it  in  their  infancy.  No  peculiarity  of  the  ancient 
Church  was  more  marked  than  its  infant  member- 
ship. No  condition  of  adult  membership  was  more 
stringently  enforced  than  this  dedication  of  the  chil- 
dren to  God.  A  Jew  esteemed  few,  if  any,  of  his 
rights  and  privileges  so  precious  and  inalienable  as 
the  one  to  place  his  child  within  the  sacred  enclosure 
of  the  people  of  God. 

All  this  was  well  known  to  the  apostles,  as  a  law 
in  Israel,  and  a  universal  custom  with  the  chosen  of 
God.  And  these  very  apostles,  who  were  still  only 
Jews  who  had  "  found  the  Christ "  and  accepted 
him,  had  all  the  deep  scriptural  and  traditional  feel- 
ings and  prejudices  of  a  Jew  on  this  question. 

This  we  must  bear  in  mind  while  inquiring  for 
their  usage  in  Infant  Baptism.  At  the  same  time 
Ave  must  bear  in  mind  that  the  Saviour  had  given 
them,  so  far  as  the  record  shows,  no  intimation  that 


THE  POSITION  OF   THE   APOSTLES.  139 

tlie  relations  of  the  cliiklren  of  believers  to  tho 
Church  were  to  be  disturbed  in  the  new  dispensa- 
tion. 

Thus  we  see,  that,  if  the  policy  was  now  to  be  in- 
troduced or  overlooking  and  excluding  children 
when  their  parents  were  admitted,  it  would  be  a 
radical,  conspicuous,  and  wide-working  change  in  the 
ancient  order  of  things. 

Among  other  things,  therefore,  we  must  also  re- 
member this:  that  so  organic  a  change  as  the  omission 
of  the  children,  if  it  took  place,  must  have  become 
the  topic  of  frequent  remark.  All  will  see  that  the 
change,  if  made,  was  very  great.  Prior  to  the  con- 
stitution of  any  Church  in  this  world,  it  would  be  an 
exceedingly  broad  question  whether  children  should 
be  recoonized  or  ig^nored.  It  is  now  a  most  sio'nifi- 
cant  difference  between  two  churches,  so  called,  that 
one  expects  infant  dedication,  and  the  other  refuses 
it.  i\Iuch  more  would  the  violent  change  discarding 
it,  when  it  had  been  universal  practice,  be  a  change 
provoking  attention  and  remark.  The  apostles,  still 
Jews,  and  laboring  among  their  brethren,  and  as  a 
first  addition  receiving  so  many  of  them,  would,  as  a 
natural  step  and  as  a  necessity,  explain  this  marked 
rejection  of  their  little  ones.  What  conference,  and 
collision  often,  on  other  points,  with  their  "  kinsmen 
according  to  the  flesh  !  "  How  repeated  and  con- 
tinuous, even  in  the  Book  of  Acts,  and  how  often  in 
the  Epistles,  the  allusion  to  controversies  with  the 
Jews  !  Yet  not  once  does  an  apostle  drop  a  remark 
in  the  way  of  explanation  or  defence,  concerning  this 
supposed  exclusion  of  the  children  from  their  ancient 
relations  and  most  endeared  privileges. 


140  THE  CHUECH  AND   HER   CHILDREN. 

Now,  before  coming  to  the  inqiiiiy  what  they  said 
and  did  concerning  the  usage  in  question,  can  we 
presume  on  a  universal  and  profound  silence  by  them, 
while  so  radical  a  change  in  the  theory  and  practice 
of  the  Church  of  God  is  taking  place  ? 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  if  no  change  were  to  take 
place  in  the  relations  of  the  children  of  believers  to 
the  Church,  then  very  little  if  any  remark  would  be 
called  for  or  made  concerning  them.  If  the  universal 
usage  of  more  than  nineteen  hundred  years  were 
abrogated,  the  change  might  well  create  a  sensation 
and  discussion ;  and  apostles  would  come  to  the  de- 
fence. But  the  continuance  of  that  usage  would 
naturally  be  in  comparative  silence.  What  would 
there  be  in  its  continuance  to  call  forth  inquiry,  ex- 
planation, or  apology  ?  It  is  change,  not  the  uniform 
and  the  stereotyped,  that  occasions  remarks  and  dis- 
cussions. The  sabbath  is  not  mentioned  for  about 
four  hundred  years  between  the  times  of  Joshua  and 
of  David.  The  continuance  of  the  institution  and 
its  observance  did  not  call  for  any  remark  on  it. 
Circumcision  is  not  mentioned  for  about  eight  hun- 
dred and  fifty  years  between  the  times  of  Moses  and 
of  Jeremiah.  The  continuance  and  observance  of  the 
ceremony  did  not  give  occasion  for  any  allusion  to  it. 
The  daily  and  annual  sacrifices  in  the  temple  for  ages 
are  not  mentioned ;  but  their  interruption  is  faith- 
fully chronicled. 

So,  if  the  relations  of  children  to  the  Church  are 
continued  from  patriarchial  and  prophetic  through 
apostolic  times,  we  should  not  expect  to  find  much, 
if,  indeed,  any  thing,  said   about  it.     The   circum- 


THE  POSITION   OF  THE  APOSTLES.  141 

stances  would  not  call  for  remark.  Silence  would 
be  the  most  conclusive  argument  for  the  continu- 
ance of  those  relations. 

These,  then,  are  the  circumstances  in  which  the 
apostles  enter  on  their  work  under  the  last  command 
of  the  Master. 

They  are  to  labor  for  the  extension  of  the  ancient 
kingdom  "  from  sea  to  sea."  The  Jew  is  to  be  per- 
suaded that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  and  so  stand  with 
Abraham  indeed  in  his  covenant  relations.  The 
Gentiles  are  to  be  led  to  accept  the  Messiah,  and  so 
come  in  as  the  children  of  Abraham,  assured  that,  if 
they  be  Christ's,  then  are  they  Abraham's  seed,  and 
heirs  according  to  the  promise.  They  are  not  to  dis- 
organize or  destroy,  but  fulfil,  like  their  Master ;  not 
innovators,  but  restorers  of  the  old  paths.  St.  John 
is  to  preach  the  Messiah  found,  as  Isaiah  preached  one 
to  come  ;  and  the  two  are  to  swell  the  ranks  for  the 
one  and  common  communion. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

nOUSEHOLD  BAPTISMS. 

THE  last  chapter  puts  us  into  the  position  of  the 
apostles.  Standing  back  there,  we  remember 
and  feel  with  their  experiences;  we  hear  the  final 
command  of  the  Master  with  their  understandings ; 
and  we  look  forward  to  work  by  such  ways  and 
means  as  their  circumstances  would  suggest.  Now 
we  are  ready  to  go  forward,  and  examine  apostolic 
action  in  the  matter  under  inquiry,  as  set  forth  in  The 
Acts  of  the  Apostles  and  in  the  Epistles. 

Their  main  effort  appears  to  have  been  to  convince 
men  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth  was  the  Messiah,  and 
that  they  should  repent  of  sin,  trust  in  him  for  sal- 
vation, and  publicly  confess  him. 

To  carry  these  points  they  urge  their  great  argu- 
ments, and  incur  their  great  perils.  To  Jewish  audi- 
ences and  readers  they  argue  these  points  from  the 
Scriptures,  showing  that  what  they  preach  is  but  an 
unfolding  and  continuation  of  the  faith  of  Abraham. 
In  all  this  they  say  but  little  of  those  under  adult  or 
responsible  years. 

The  disposition  of  children,  so  far  as  their  religious 
relations  were  concerned,  seems  to  have  been  accord- 
ing to  a  settled  and  well-understood  policy.     It  did 

142 


HOUSEHOLD   BAPTISMS.  143 

not,  apparently,  call  for  modification,  explanation,  or 
defence. 

There  is  occasionally  an  allusion,  incidentally 
made,  that  covers  children ;  but  generally  they  re- 
main unnoticed,  just  as  we  may  suppose  they  would 
under  an  ancient  and  universal  usage.  Hence  the 
fbjoction  is  of  little  account,  that  only  three  instances 
of  household  baptism  are  recorded  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment. Even  if  these  three  instances  proved  Infant 
Baptism,  they  would  add  but  little  to  the  force  of 
the  general  argument.  Children  being  always  in- 
cluded in  the  Church  before,  and  being  brought 
always  by  baptism  into  Israel  with  the  proselyte 
purent,  and  being  reckoned  by  Christ  as  members  of 
his  kingdom,  and  no  exception  of  them  being  made 
in  his  command  to  make  continued  additions  by  bap- 
tism, it  is  to  be  held  that  they  continued  to  be  reck- 
oned and  gathered  with  the  believing  and  professing 
parents.  So,  the  greater  the  silence  in  the  New 
Testament  concerning  them,  the  stronger  the  infer- 
ence that  their  relations  have  not  been  changed. 
Hence  the  great  mistake  of  those  who  reject  house- 
hold consecration  because  there  is  no  positive  com- 
mand for  it  in  the  New  Testament.  It  had  been 
commanded  and  practised  among  the  people  of  God 
for  nineteen  hundred  years.  In  a  continuation  of 
the  doctrines  and  principles  and  Church-organization 
that  had  prevailed  for  nineteen  centuries,  why  de- 
mand a  specific  command  for  one  only  of  the  many 
items  continued  ?  As  well  demand  that  the  ten  com- 
mandments must  be  re-enacted  in  order  to  be  in 
force  under  tlie  Christian  dispensation. 


14^  THE  CHURCH  AND   HER   CHILDREN. 

So,  if  those  of  tlie  opposing  theory,  with  much  spe- 
cial labor,  seem  to  show  that  children  were  not  of 
necessity  included  in  the  three  cases  of  household  bap- 
tism, it  makes  nothing  against  the  main  argument  for 
the  institution.  The  specific  mention  of  infant  baptism 
by  the  apostles  is  no  more  necessary  to  complete  the 
proof  of  it,  than  the  mention  of  the  sabbath  during 
those  four  hundred  years  between  Joshua  and  David, 
or  the  mention  of  circumcision  during^  those  eic»ht 
hundred  and  fifty  years  between  Moses  and  Jeremiah, 
is  necessary  to  prove  the  continued  observance  of 
those  institutions.  The  only  thing  that  required  a 
specific  mention  and  assertion  in  all  this  matter  Avas 
the  change  of  seal  from  circumcision  to  baptism. 
This  change  was  made  and  practised  during  the  life 
of  the  Saviour,  and  finally  and  specially  commanded 
when  he  said,  "  Go  teach  all  nations,  baptizing," 
instead  of  circumcising  as  aforetime. 

The  explanation,  therefore,  of  these  three  cases  of 
household  baptism  may  be  safely  passed  by  as  a  mat- 
ter of  indifference.  We  can  afford  to  leave  them  to 
the  free  use  of  those  who  deny  the  ordinance  in 
question,  if  they  will  use  them  fairly.  The  extrem- 
est  favorable  construction  for  themselves  that  they 
can  put  on  them  is  that  children  are  not  mentioned 
in  them  ;  and,  as  they  are  not  absolutely,  universally, 
and  invariably  included  under  the  word  "  household," 
there  may  have  been  none  in  these  three  households. 

But  this  does  not  prove  that  there  were  in  them 
no  children  ;  nor  may  they  press  their  use  so  far  as 
this.  If  they  ask  us  for  the  family  register  of  Lydia 
and  of   the  jailer  and  of   Stephanas,  to   show   the 


HOUSEHOLD  BAPTISMS.  145 

names  and  ages  of  children  there,  before  we  can  use 
these  cases  to  establish  the  practice  of  infant  baptism, 
we,  in  turn,  ask  of  them  those  registers  to  show  that 
there  were  no  children,  before  the}^  urge  the  cases 
against  us.  So  the  whole  argument  from  these  cases 
is  an  argument  from  probabilities.  Before  dismiss- 
ing it,  let  us  look  at  it  a  moment  in  this  light.  What 
is  probable,  —  that  there  were  or  were  not  children  in 
any  one  of  those  three  households  ?  As  a  general  rule, 
what  is  the  fact  as  to  finding:  or  not  findingr  children 
in  a  "  household  "  or  family  ?  And,  according  to  ec- 
clesiastical law  and  usage  in  the  land  and  times  of 
these  three  cases,  we  reckon  females  of  twelve  years 
and  a  day,  and  males  of  thirteen  years  and  a  day,  and 
under,  as  children.  If  any  one  will  take  the  house- 
holds or  families  in  any  ward,  district,  or  village  with 
which  he  is  familiar,  he  will  find  that  a  large  majority 
of  them  have  children  under  twelve  and  thirteen 
years.  An  investigation  of  facts  will  show  this.  If  the 
inquiry  be  raised  concerning  an  unknown  family,  the 
probabilities  are  altogether  in  favor  of  the  hypothesis 
that  children  will  be  found  in  it.  These  general  ob- 
servations and  impressions  may  be  confirmed  by  facts 
from  census  returns.  In  England,  in  1837,  42,203 
families,  under  the  head  of  *'  husband  and  wife," 
were  taken  in  order,  that  is,  as  they  came  in  going 
from  house  to  house.  Of  these,  30,256  had  children. ^ 
This  fact  shows  children  in  nearly  two-thirds  of  the 
families.  When  the  census  of  New  York  was  taken  in 
1865,  it  was  taken  by  families,  with  special  reference 


1  United-States  Census,  1850:  Couipeud.  p.  101. 
13 


146  THE  CHUECH  AND  HER   CHH^DIIEN. 

to  children.  To  each  of  the  women  who  were  or 
had  been  married,  of  whom  there  were  842,562,  the 
question  was  put,  whether  she  had  had  chiklren ; 
and  only  115,252  answered  in  the  negative.  In  this 
case  six  families  out  of  every  seven  had  had  children  ; 
but  no  registry  shows  what  proportion  had  them  yet 
under  the  age  of  thirteen. 

Now,  as  the  very  term  "  household  "  or  family  im- 
plies the  marriage  relation,  the  probability  is  strong 
(three  to  four  and  six  to  seven,  according  to  the  above 
facts),  that,  in  either  one  of  the  three  cases  before  us 
taken  separately,  there  were  children.  In  the  absence 
of  any  j)ositive  proof  either  wa}^  this  is  a  reasonable 
conclusion.  If  we  take  the  three  cases  together,  the 
probability  rises  very  much,  that  among  them  there 
was  at  least  one  family  having  children.  So,  while 
the  opponents  of  this  institution  incline  to  make 
much  of  these  three  cases,  we  specially  mark  the  fact, 
that  the  strength  of  theu-  argument  from  them  lies 
in  the  very  limited  number  of  cases.  A  large  num- 
ber of  such  instances  would  increase  the  probability  to 
a  certainty,  that  there  must  have  been  children  among 
them.  How  doubtful  an  arorument  is  that  Avhose 
weakness  is  increased  with  the  increase  of  the  facts 
on  which  it  professes  to  be  based  !  In  ordinary  argu- 
ment, the  more  facts  bearing  on  the  point  the  better. 
But  here  the  safety  of  the  conclusion  sought  lies  in 
the  fewness  of  the  data.  Indeed,  it  is  an  extraordi- 
nary argument  and  most  singular  logic  that  so  uses 
three  facts  to  establish  a  point  where  three  times  three 
would  disprove  it  beyond  a  reasonable  doubt.  But 
we  must  not  yet  take  our  leave  of  the  "  household  " 


HOUSEHOLD   BAPTISMS.  147 

of  Lydia  and  of  the  jailer  and  of  Stephanas.  The 
use  of  this  word  "  household  "  in  the  Scriptures  has 
an  important  bearing  in  balancing  the  probabilities 
on  this  question.  The  original  word  here  translated 
*'  household "  is  the  only  word  in  New-Testament 
Greek  by  which  one  could  express  the  idea  of  a 
family,  including  parents  and  children  ;  and  where 
that  idea  is  expressed  this  word  is  used.  So,  when 
Paul  is  pointing  out  to  Timothy  the  qualifications  for 
a  bishop,  he  says,  "  One  that  ruleth  well  his  own 
house,  having  his  children  in  subjection."  Here  chil- 
dren are  included  in  the  word  ''house,"  or  household, 
as  is  evident  from  the  last  clause  of  the  quotation. 
AVhen  God  commanded  Noah  to  enter  the  ark  with 
all  his  "  house,''  the  command,  as  we  know,  included 
his  children.  When  the  Seventy  made  a  Greek  trans- 
lation of  the  Old  Testament  about  two  hundred  and 
eighty  years  before  Christ,  they  used  this  same  Greek 
word  to  express  the  family.  The  Septuagint  furnishes 
very  many  instances  of  this  ;  and  very  likely  a  care- 
ful examination  would  show  a  uniformity  of  use  by 
them  of  this  same  word.  An  extensive  research  on 
this  point  is  mentioned  by  Taylor,  the  editor  of  Cal- 
met's  Bible  Dictionary,  and  shows  a  conclusive  re- 
sult. He  reports  the  examination  of  about  three 
hundred  instances  of  the  use  of  this  word  as  ap- 
plied to  persons,  all  which  denoted  a  fiimily  with 
children. 2 

Tliere  is  one  other  item  of  evidence  on  the  import 
of    the    word   "  household,"    that    should    here    be 

2  See  Apostolic  Baptism,  by  C.  Taylor;  specially  on  the  uses  of 
oi/cof  and  oUla. 


118  THE  OHUKCH  AND   HER  CHILDREN. 

noticed.  In  the  first  Christian  centuiy,  a  translation 
of  the  New  Testament  was  made  into  the  Old  Syriac 
or  Peshito.  This  version  uses  the  phrase  or  idiom 
"  sons  of  the  house  "  for  household.  So  in  the  pas- 
sage concerning  Lydia  it  reads,  "  And  when  she  was 
baptized,  and  the  sons  of  her  house."  The  same  is 
said  of  the  exemplary  wife  in  Prov.  xxxi.  15,  21 : 
"  She  riseth  also  while  it  is  yet  night,  and  giveth 
meat  to  the  sons  of  her  house  "  [household].  "  She 
is  not  afraid  of  the  snow  for  the  sons  of  her  house  " 
[household].  So  also  in  Eccl.  ii.  7  :  "I  got  me  ser- 
vants and  maidens,  and  sons  of  my  house  were  born 
to  me."  In  the  authorized  version  it  reads,  "And  I 
had  servants  born  in  my  house."  Here  the  reference 
is  beyond  question. 

Of  this  translation  certain  things  are  to  be  noted 
that  give  it  a  peculiar  weight  of  influence.  It  was 
completed  before  the  close  of  the  first  centmy,  or 
very  early  in  the  second.  Then  the  Peshito  trans- 
lator or  translators  of  the  New  Testament  had  proba- 
bly known  some  of  the  apostles  personally:  they 
lived  in  the  very  region  where  the  apostles  labored. 
Being,  then,  on  the  ground  of  their  labors,  if  not  in 
the  time,  and  making  this  translation  for  those  who 
had  learned  to  love  the  Christian  Scriptures,  those 
translating  had  two  great  advantages,  — a  knowledge 
of  apostolic  custom  as  to  "  household  "  baptism,  and 
a  knowledge  of  the  import  of  the  word  as  used  by 
the  apostles  and  rendered  "  household."  No  writer, 
it  would  seem,  could  be  better  situated  to  understand 
the  practice,  and  translate  the  language  in  question. 
And  of  Lydia  and  her  household  they  say  in  trans- 


HOUSEHOLD  BAPTISMS.  149 

lation,  "  When  she  was  baptized,  and  the  sons  of  her 
house." 

With  a  concludinc^  remark  we  here  take  leave  of 
the  three  "  households."  The  weight  of  argument 
turns  on  the  meaning  of  the  Greek  word  oixog^  ren- 
dered "house"  and  "household."  Fortunately  we 
Jiave  two  perfectly  reliable  witnesses  on  its  import. 
Three  hundred  cases  of  Hebrew  words  denoting  a 
family  with  children,  fifty  of  them  known  to  include 
children,  are  rendered  in  the  Septuagint  by  oUog. 
This  witness  testifies  what  meaning  went  into  the 
word.  A  translator  of  the  first  Christian  centurj^ 
turning  the  New  Testament  into  Syriac,  translates  the 
word  oixog  "  sons  of  the  house."  This  witness 
testifies  what  meaning  came  out  of  the  word. 

18* 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

SUI^IMARY  OF  THE  BIBLICAL  AKGUMENT. 

'TTT'E  are  now  about  to  pass  to  another  branch  of 
V  V  this  subject.  It  may  be  well  to  review  the 
ground  passed  over,  and  see  what  progress  we  have 
made,  and  what  positions  we  have  obtained. 

We  have  found  that  God  constituted  a  visible 
church  in  the  Abrahamic  covenant ;  and  we  fail  of 
any  Scripture  evidence  to  show  that  either  He  or  his 
prophets,  Christ  or  his  apostles,  ever  constituted  any 
other.  The  forms  and  ceremonies  pertaining  to  its 
management  and  worship  varied  more  or  less  under 
different  dispensations  ;  but  the  organic  structure  of 
the  one  universal  Church  of  God  remained  un- 
changed. In  it  the  apostles  were  members  ;  and  to 
it  they  united  their  converts,  as  the  proplietic  incom- 
ing of  the  Gentiles.  We  have  seen,  too,  that  the  pa- 
triarchal and  apostolic  creed  required  for  admission 
was  one  and  the  same,  — faith  in  Christ. 

Under  the  ancient  regime  the  additions  were  made 
by  families,  so  far  as  the  adults  coming*  in  had  fami- 
lies. So  the  two  leading^  features  m  the  Abrahamic 
Church  Avere  Christ  as  the  body  of  doctrine,  and  the 
Family  as  the  body  of  membership.  We  have  found 
that  Circumcision  and  Baptism  held  the  same  office, 

150 


SUMI^IARY  OF  THE   BIBLICAL   ARGUMENT.      151 

and  rendered  the  same  service,  as  ushers  at  the  door 
of  the  Church. 

It  lijis  been  seen,  too,  that,  while  the  former  disap- 
peared in  the  times  of  the  apostles,  the  latter  ap- 
peared, filling  its  place.  And,  while  there  is  on  record 
no  divine  command  for  this  substitution  of  one  for 
the  other,  it  has  been  shown  that  an  apostolic  practice 
is  as  authoritative  as  a  specific  divine  command  ;  since 
the  apostles  were  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  promise 
that  the-  Holy  Ghost  should  teach  them  all  things, 
and  bring  to  their  remembrance  what  Christ  had  said 
to  them.  In  such  circumstances  we  may  well  suppose 
that  the  specific  command  of  Christ,  that  baptism 
should  be  substituted  for  circumcision,  was  left  out 
of  the  record,  and  among  those  '^  many  other  things 
which  Jesus  did,  the  which,  if  they  should  be  written 
every  one,  I  suppose  that  even  the  world  itself  could 
not  contain  the  books  that  should  be  written." 

In  the  course  of  our  inquiry  we  have  ascertained 
that  household  baptism  was  common  among  the  Jews 
in  the  times  of  our  Lord,  and  was  an  invariable  rite 
for  the  families  of  Gentile  proselytes.  So,  in  the  last 
great  command  of  Christ  to  his  apostles,  baptism  had 
no  strange  or  unusual  import,  but  was  defined  by  tradi- 
tional and  common  usage.  Therefore,  if  qualification 
was  not  made  by  Christ  to  the  contrary,  the  apostles 
would  naturally  go  forth  baptizing  families  into  Chris- 
tianity, just  as  the  Jews  from  time  immemorial  had 
been  baptizing  Gentile  families  into  Judaism.  Hence 
the  rare  mention  of  household  baptism  by  the  apos- 
tles—  only  three  cases  —  is  a  very  natural  omission. 
A  common  usage,  and  unquestioned,  is  not  of  a  nature 


V 


152  THE  CHUECH  AND   HER   CHILDREN. 

to  call  forth  remark  and  record,  specially  wlien  the 
annals  are  as  brief  as  the  apostolic. 

Though  positive  proof  is  wanting  in  the  three  cases 
recorded,  to  show  that  there  were  or  were  not  chil- 
dren under  twelve  years,  and  so  subjects  for  infant 
baptism,  in  those  families,  still  the  presumption  is 
very  strong  that  there  were  ;  for  taking  society  as  it 
is  constituted,  and  going  from  house  to  house,  two- 
thirds  if  not  three-fourths  of  the  households  would 
be  found  to  have  members  under  twelve  years  of 
age. 

AVhile  it  is  objected  that  the  command  is  to  baptize 
only  believers,  we  have  found  also  that  the  command 
was  to  circumcise  only  believers  ;  and,  as  the  children 
were  included  in  the  command  for  circumcision,  so 
they  may  be  included  in  the  command  for  baptism, 
by  a  fair  construction  of  language,  as  well  as  by  a 
consideration  of  that  proselyte  usage  of  baptism  on 
which  the  Christian  use  of  baptism  sprung  up.  In- 
deed, the  most  of  the  objections  to  Infant  Baptism  — 
as  that  the  rite  is  designed  to  be  a  seal  of  true  piety, 
that  the  infant  has  no  knowledge  of  its  import  and 
gives  no  assent  to  it,  that  it  deprives  one  of  the  privi- 
lege of  making  a  profession  of  religion  for  himself, 
and  many  other  such  objections  —  lie  with  equal  force 
against  the  rite  of  circumcision.  The  objections 
over-reach  in  their  design,  and  break  in  on  the  econo- 
my of  God  for  his  Church  as  set  forth  in  the  Old 
Testament. 

Thus  far  we  have  brought  the  argument,  extending 
it  through  apostolic  times.  It  is  now  a  matter  of  first 
importance  among  auxiliary  evidences,  to  know  what 


SUMMARY  OF  THE  BIBLICAL  ARGUMENT.      153 

was  the  practice  in  those  churches  founded  by  tlie 
apostles,  in  the  first  centuries  of  the  Christian  era. 
We  now,  therefore,  pass  to  the  Historical  Argument 
for  Infant  Baptism. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THE  HISTOKICAL  AKGTJMENT  OPENED. 

IN  the  light  and  strength  of  the  argument,  as  thus 
far  developed,  let  us  assume,  yet  only  for  the  time 
being,  that  the  Christian  Church  moved  off  from 
apostolic  times  into  the  centuries,  with  this  usage  of 
infant  consecration  in  common  practice.  Wherever, 
in  the  cities  of  the  East,  a  branch  of  the  Church  was 
established,  let  us,  for  a  little,  presume  that  this  rite 
came  into  practice.  We  will  not  declare  that  it  was 
so :  we  will  only  assume  it,  and  for  this  reason,  that 
any  historical  evidence  bearing  on  the  question  may 
appear  in  its  true  circumstances,  and  have  its  due 
weight.  Unless  the  rite  is  wholly  a  forgery,  and  was 
foisted  into  the  Church  among  the  corruptions  of 
early  times,  its  practice  must  have  been  common  in 
the  two  and  three  opening  centuries  of  the  Christian 
era.  If  a  practice  at  all,  it  was  probably  general  and 
without  controversy.  Only  as  an  innovation  would 
it  be  likely  to  be  discussed. 

Then,  if  practised  thus  as  a  rite  not  to  be  ques- 
tioned, we  should  not  look  to  find  much  said  concern- 
ing it  by  the  writ'ers  of  those  times.  It  would  stand 
among  the  acts  that  were  performed  as  a  matter  of 
course,  and  so  called  for  remark  or  allusion  but  sel- 

154 


THE   HISTORICAL  ARGUMENT   OPENED.         155 

dom,  and  then  incidentally,  as  the  keeping  of  the 
sabbath  and  circumcision  are  not  mentioned  for  cen- 
turies in  Jewish  historj^ 

A  remark  of  Augustine  may  be  quoted  in  this 
place  as  pertinent  and  illustrative.  Pelagius,  in  the 
great  controversy  occasioned  by  his  denial  of  the  doc- 
trine of  original  sin,  accused  Augustine  of  originat- 
ing the  doctrine,  and,  as  proof,  affirmed  that  nothing 
was  said  or  heard  of  it  in  the  earlier  Church.  Au- 
gustine aptly  replies,  "  What  need  is  there  that  w^e 
should  examine  the  works  of  those  who  lived  before 
this  heresy  [the  Pelagian]  arose,  and  so  had  no  occa- 
sion to  be  employed  in  solving  the  difficult  question  ? 
—  which  no  doubt  they  would  have  done,  if  they  had 
been  compelled  to  reply  to  such  things." 

If  no  controversy  should  be  raised  concerning  the 
authority  of  the  rite,  and  no  sect  spring  up  denying 
it,  the  fact  of  its  performance,  or  the  question  as  to 
the  proper  subject  for  it,  might  naturally  pass  through 
the  first  three  centuries  with  scarcely  an  allusion  to 
it  by  the  writers  of  those  times.  The  scantiness  of 
historical  reference,  therefore,  to  this  topic,  in  those 
early  times,  is  no  necessary  evidence  against  the  prac- 
tice of  the  ordinance. 

It  is  a  singular  and  interesting  fact,  as  we  shall  see, 
that,  so  soon  as  there  is  any  occasion  to  speak  on  this 
subject,  the  allusions  and  statements  are  full,  free, 
and  unqualified,  as  if  it  were  an  ordinance  received 
from  the  apostolic  fathers,  always  approved,  and 
generally  observed.  When  the  rite  first  became,  by 
incident,  a  subject  of  controversy  in  the  Church, 
even  those  most   interested  to  deny   its  apostolical 


156  THE  CHURCH  AND  HER   CHILDREN. 

practice,  that  they  might  the  better  defend  them- 
selves in  certain  departures  from  the  common  faith, 
make  no  intimation  that  it  is  a  rite  of  human  inven- 
tion. The  first  controversial  opening  on  the  subject  is 
plenary  as  to  the  fact  of  the  practice  of  the  rite, 
leaving  us  to  conclude  that  at  any  time  during  the 
preceding  period  of  silence  there  would  have  been 
the  same  fulness  of  statement  if  occasion  had  de- 
manded. 

It  may  not  seem  needful  to  cite  witnesses  to  the 
general  prevalence  of  this  ordinance  later  than  A.D. 
412,  when  Augustine  opened  the  Pelagian  contro- 
versy. Yet  it  is  so  convenient  and  pertinent  to  intro- 
duce here  certain  from  Europe  and  Asia  and  Africa, 
—  men  eminent  and  of  wide  scholarship  and  influ- 
ence in  their  day,  —  that  it  is  not  easy  to  refrain.  It 
is  the  more  willingly  done,  because  it  does  not  seem 
to  be  as  well  known  as  it  should,  how  full  of  evidence 
on  this  point  the  early  Church  history  is. 

Let  us  begin,  therefore,  a  few  years  later  than  A.D. 
412,  and  work  backward  among  the  Christian  fathers, 
to  a  point  as  near  to  the  times  of  the  apostles  as  we 
can  find  any  one  of  them  speaking  on  this  subject  of 
Infant  Baptism. 

Vincent  of  Lerins  flourished  as  a  presbyter  and 
monk  about  A.D.  430,  and  has  preserved  his  name 
by  an  attack  on  Augustine,  that  gave  occasion  for 
that  great  man  to  write  his  four  books  Concerning 
the  Soul  and  its  Origin.  Vincent  had  his  island  home 
in  the  Mediterranean,  a  little  off  the  coast  of  France, 
as  his  title  indicates.  We  are  indebted  to  Augustine 
for  the  words  of  Vincent  on  the  baptism  of  infants :  — 


THE   HISTORICAL  ARGUMENT   OPENED.         157 

"We  must  consider  those  infants,  wlio,  being  des- 
tined to  baptism  in  the  present  life,  are  prevented  by 
death  before  they  are  regenerated  in  Christ.  ...  I 
dare  to  affirm  that  they  may  obtain  the  forgiveness 
of  original  sin,  though  they  may  not  be  admitted  to 
heaven  itself :  as  to  the  confessing  but  not  baptized 
thief  the  Lord  granted  not  heaven,  but  paradise."  ^ 

Here  Vincent  advances  the  theory  that  baptism  is 
necessary  to  a  full  salvation,  the  unbaptized  infant 
prevented  from  the  intended  rite  being  admitted 
only  to  the  intermediate  state  of  paradise.  That  this 
is  his  theory  is  evident  from  his  second  book,  where 
he  supports  his  reference  to  the  thief  by  the  current 
tradition  of  Dinocrates,  a  boy  of  seven  years,  and 
his  sister,  who,  being  heathen  children,  could  not 
obtain  baptism,  and  so  gained  only  paradise.^ 

We  pass  from  Southern  Europe  to  Mesopotamia. 
Theodoret,  who  was  eminent  in  his  work  about  A.D. 
420,  a  pupil  of  Cluysostom,  and  bishop  of  Cyrus  on 
the  Euphrates,  is  said  to  have  had  there  at  one  time 
the  charge  of  eight  hundred  churches.  He  was  a 
distinguished  writer.  "  His  learning,"  says  Mosheim, 
"  was  great,  his  genius  good,  and   his   productions 


*o 


taries  on  the   Old  Testament,   and  on   the   Pauline 


1  "Hahendain  diciimis  de  iufantibus  isthis  modi  rationem,  qui 
pr.nedestiuati  baptismo  vitie  praesentis,  antequam  renascuntur  in 
Cliristo,  prfeveniuntur  occiduo.  .  .  .  Aiisiiu  dicere  istos  pervenire 
posse  ad  originaliiim  indial{:^entiam  peccatonim,  uon  tanien  ut 
ca3leste  iuducantur  in  regnum.  Siciiti  latroui  confesso  quideni,  sed 
non  baptizato,  Domiuus  non  cadonuii  reswuni  tribuit,  sed  para- 
disinn."  —  Apud  August.,  De  Anima,  Lib.  ii.  9,  10. 

2  Idem,  Lib.  i.  9,  ii.  10,  12,  iu.  9. 

14 


J 


158  THE  CHURCH  AND   HER   CHHJDREN. 

Epistles  ;  An  Ecclesiastical  History,  covering  the 
time  from  A.D.  320  to  A.D.  427,  which  is  a  con- 
tinuation of  Eusebius  ;  Five  Books  on  the  Existing 
Heresies ;  The  Lives  of  Thirty  Eminent  Monks ; 
Dialogues  on  the  Trinity  ;  An  Apology  for  Chris- 
tianity, in  Twelve  Books,  besides  miscellanies.  He 
did  a  great  work  in  confuting  and  converting  the 
Marcionites,  of  whom  he  says  he  baptized  ten  thou- 
sand. Such  a  man  was,  of  course,  eminently  fitted 
to  speak  on  the  usage  of  infant  baptism  in  his  times. 
He  says,  — 

"  Baptism  is  not  what  the  foolish  Messalians  call  it, 
—  only  a  razor  that  cuts  off  past  sins,  which,  indeed,  it 
does.  But,  if  it  affects  no  more,  why  need  we  baptize 
infants,  who  are  sinless  ?  "  ^ 

This  question  of  the  learned  Theodoret  is  direct 
and  simple,  and  can  leave  no  doubt  in  a  candid  mind 
that  the  rite  we  are  considering  was  generally  ob- 
served in  his  day. 

That  we  may  take  the  widest  range  of  the  Chris- 
tian field,  and  gather  evidence  from  extreme  and 
opposite  borders,  to  show  the  universality  of  this 
usage,  let  us  pass  now  from  the  Eu^Dhrates  to  the 
Nile. 

Isidore  of  Pelusium  was  active  and  prominent  in 
church  affi[iirs  from  A.D.  388  to  A.D.  431.  He 
devoted  much  of  his  very  rigid  monkish  life  to  expo- 

3  Ov  yap  cjf  ol  <l)pevoj3?uif3eig  MeoaaAcavoi  vo/xl^ovat,  ^vpuv  fzovov  (iifihTcu. 
TO  ^uTTTiafia  ruf  TrpoyeyevTjiiivag  u<p(upovfj,evov  afiapnac :  tovto  yap  m 
TTEpiovaiag  Xopi^erai.  El  yap  tovto  [lovov  epyov  rjv  tov  (3a7rTiafiaTog,  avd' 
OTov  Tu  l3pE<p7j  iiaivTiCpiitv  ov6knu  T7}q  ufiapnag  yevad/xeva :  —  Hceretic.  Fa- 
hul.  Lib,  V.  c.  xviii.  De  Baj). 


THE  HISTORICAL   ARGUMENT  OPENED.  159 

sitions  of  the  Scriptures,  in  the  form  of  Epistles.  Of 
these  he  left  over  two  thousand,  "  of  great  value  for 
the  history  of  morals  and  exegesis,"  says  Guericke,  in 
his  "  Ancient  Church.''  On  the  baptism  of  Infants 
Isidore  thus  speaks :  — 

"  You  wrote  me  wishing  to  know  why  infants,  being 
sinless,  are  baptized.  It  seems  well  for  me  to  give 
you  my  reasons.  Some,  degrading  the  subject,  say  it 
is  that  they  may  have  cleansed  away  that  filth  coming 
on  human  nature  by  the  sin  of  Adam.  I  also  think 
it  does  that ;  but  "  &c.  And  he  goes  on  to  show  that 
it  also  imparts  many  gifts  and  graces,  constituting 
the  subject  a  real  child  of  God.^ 

Jerome,  who  was  baptized  into  the  Church  A.D. 
363,  and  died  A.D.  420,  was  not  involved  in  any  con- 
troversy that  required  him  to  speak  of  this  rite  ;  and- 
so  he  refers  to  it  but  infrequently,  if,  indeed,  more 
than  once,  and  that  incidentally,  as  he  would  have  re- 
ferred to  the  other  sacrament  common  and  unques- 
tioned. In  his  Letter  to  Leta,  on  the  education  of 
her  daughter,  he  has  this  passage  :  — 

"  He  who  is  a  child  and  thinks  as  a  child,  till  he 
arrives  at  the  age  of  discretion,  and  Py thagoras's  letter 
Y  leads  him  to  the  divided  way,  has  both  his  good 
and  evil  imputed  to  his  parents ;  unless,  indeed,  you 
assume  that  the  children  themselves  are  alone  at  fault, 
if  they  do  not  receive  baptism,  and  that  the  sin  is  not 
to  be  charged  on  those  who  were  unwilling  to  grant 


*  'EnetAr/  ytypatpe  oov  rj  fieyaTuovoia  ^ov^jOfMEvr]  /xadelv  6ia  tt]v  alrlav  tH 
^pE<^  avafiap-ijTa  bvTa  (}ann^tTat,  ktX.  —  IsiDOia  Ejmtolaruni,  lAh.  iii. 
Epis.  195. 


160  THE  CHURCH  AND   HER   CHHJDREN. 

it  at  that  very  time  when  those  about  to  receive  it 
were  unable  to  object  to  it."  ^ 

Here  the  removal  of  the  sins  of  infancy  by  baptism, 
according  to  the  erring  notion  of  the  times,  is  clearly 
set  forth,  and  is  used  to  press  parental  responsibility 
on  Leta. 

These  four  authorities  are  cited, — Vincent,  Theodo- 
ret,  Isidore,  and  Jerome,  —  partly  to  show  the  common 
use  of  the  rite  in  question  in  their  day,  but  mainly  for 
another  purpose.  The  authorities  about  to  be  quoted 
will  cover  and  defend  the  ground  fully  that  we  claim, 
and  will  show  that,  in  the  later  times  of  these  four,  the 
usage  was  universal.  Yet  these  four  make  only  single 
and  isolated  and  incidental  allusions  to  it.  The  main 
purpose,  therefore,  in  quoting  their  meagre  words,  is 
to  illustrate  the  fact  that  voluminous  Avriters  among 
the  fathers  have  passed  over  this  rite,  when  every- 
where in  practice,  with  bare  and  solitary  allusions 
only,  when  they  had  no  occasion  to  refer  to  it  con- 
troversially. A  little  earlier  Augustine  and  Pela- 
gius  are  redundant  in  references,  because  under  the 
rite,  and  related  to  it,  great  doctrines  were  in  contro- 
versy betAveen  them.  By  and  by  we  shall  come  again 
to  church  fathers  comparatively  silent  on  infant 
baptism,  because  it  is  not  in  controversy,  directly  or  in- 
cidentally. This  fact  and  illustration  are  specially  com- 

5  "  Qui  autem  parvtilus  est  et  sapit  ut  parvnlus,  donee  ad  annos 
sapientine  veniat,  et  Pythagoras  litera  Y  eum  perducat  ad  biviiini, 
tarn  bona  ejus  quam  mala  parentibus  imiDutantnr ;  nisi  forte  existi- 
mas  Christianorum  filios,  si  baptisnia  non  receperint  ipsos  tantum 
reos  esse  peccati,  et  non  etiam  scelus  refeni  ad  eos  qni  dare  nolue- 
rint,  maxime  eo  tempore  quo  contradicere  non  poterant  qni  accep- 
turi  erant."— HiEKoxYMi,  Epistolce,  Selectoi,  Lib.  ii.,  Ep.  15,  adLietani. 


THE   HISTORICAL  ARGUMENT  OPENED.  IGl 

mended  to  the  consideration  of  those  who  would  make 
so  much  against  the  existence  of  the  rite  in  the  early 
Church,  from  the  silence  of  some  of  the  church  fathers. 
An  historical  argument  based  on  historical  silence  may 
sometimes  have  a  terrible  recoil.  If  Capt.  Cook 
makes  no  reference  to  sunrise  in  the  Sandwich  Islands, 
what  is  the  inference  ? 

14* 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

THE  PELAGIAN  CONTROVERSY,  AND  INFANT  BAPTISM. 

THE  Pelagian  controversy  furnished  the  first  occa- 
sion for  preachers  and  authors  and  councils  in 
the  Church  to  speak  much  and  positively  on  this  sub- 
ject. Allusions  would  of  course  be  made  incidentally ; 
and,  when  any  heresy  or  schism  arose  involving  this 
sacrament,  the  allusions  would  increase.  But,  till  the 
heresy  of  Pelagius  came  abroad,  and  disputes  arose 
over  it,  there  was  no  good  cause  why  much  should  be 
said  on  this  common  and  quiet  and  universal  ordi- 
nance.    That  controversy  arose  in  this  way. 

Pelagius,  a  British  monk,  being  resident  at  Rome 
about  A.D.  410,  gave  head  and  name  to  the  heresy. 
The  common  doctrine  of  the  Church  at  that  time  on 
original  sin  was,  that  the  first  sin  of  Adam  was  im- 
puted to  his  entire  posterity  by  the  appointment  of 
God,  and  that  the  effects  of  it  were  transmitted  to  all 
his  race  in  such  a  way  that  they  were  born  without 
any  original  righteousness,  and  under  sentence  of 
death,  and  liable  to  an  eternal  separation  from  God. 
Pelagius  denied  the  doctrine  of  original  sin  in  this 
sense ;  and  Avith  him  as  leaders  in  the  denial  and  op- 
position were  Coelestius  a  presbyter,  and  Julian  an 
Italian  bishop. 

162 


THE  PELAGIAN  CONTROVERSY.      163 

In  opposition  to  tlie  common  doctrine,  Pelagius 
tauq-ht  that  sinninix  in  Adam  did  not  mean  contractiiiGT 
sin  by  birth  in  the  race  of  Adam,  but  only  a  sin  of  imi- 
tation. "  How  can  one  be  esteemed  guilty  of  the  sin," 
he  saj^s,  "  which  he  knows  he  did  not  commit?  If  it 
is  not  his  own,  it  is  compulsory,  but  if  his  own,  volun- 
tary ;  and  if  voluntar}^  it  can  be  avoided."  ^ 

In  his  exposition  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  he 
says,  "  The  transgression  of  Adam  did  not  injure 
those  not  sinning,  as  the  righteousness  of  Christ  does 
not  help  those  not  trusting  in  him."  "  If  baptism 
washes  away  that  old  sin,  those  born  of  baptized 
parents  ought  to  be  free  from  all  sin ;  for  they  could 
not  impart  to  their  children  what  they  did  not  them- 
selves possess."  Pelagius  goes  on  to  say,  that,  if  the 
^oul  of  the  new-born  babe  is  not  by  jiropagation,  but 
creation,  "  it  would  be  very  unjust  that  a  soul  born 
to-day,  and  not  from  the  stock  of  Adam  [non  ex 
massd  Adce^^  should  be  punished  for  that  ancient  sin  ; 
and  that  it  cannot  be  that  God,  who  forgives  one's 
own  sins,  should  impute  to  him  the  sins  of  another." 

In  his  book  on  Free  Will,  he  says,  "  Every  thing 
good  or  ill  in  us  was  not  born  in  us,  but  done  l)y  us. 
We  are  born  capable  of  becoming  good  or  evil,  but 
not  with  those  qualities.  By  birth  we  are  equally 
wanting  holiness  and  sin."  Augustine  says  Coeles- 
tius  tauq;ht  that  "  the  sin  of  Adam  hurt  no  one  but 
himself ; "  and  that  Julian  held  that  "  at  the  time  of 
our  birth  our  nature  is  rich  in  innocence,"  and  that 
*'  if  one   be  charged  with  guilt,  the  charge  must  lie 

1  De  Natura,  apiid  August. 


O 


164  THE  CHURCH  AND   HER   CHILDREN. 

against  his  conduct,  not  his  birth."  And  much  more 
to  the  same  import  from  the  three  Pelagian  leaders. 

All  this  was  foreign  to  the  creed  of  the  Church,  as 
then  held ;  and,  to  defend  the  ancient  faith  against 
these  innovations,  Augustine  gave  himself  up,  and  for 
twenty  years  was  engaged  in  the  struggle.  Indeed, 
he  died  in  the  full  armor  of  battle,  A.D.  430. 

In  opposing  these  views,  Augustine  urged  many 
points  with  his  great  and  varied  ability ;  but  we  are 
concerned  now  with  only  one  line  of  his  argument. 
Nor  is  it  a  question  now  with  us  who  was  right,  on 
the  doctrine  of  original  sin ;  nor  yet  whether  the 
design  and  office  of  baptism  were  Scripturally  appre- 
hended. Pelagius  agreed  fully  with  the  Church  in  the 
practice  of  infant  baptism ;  but  denied  original  sin, 
which,  in  the  Church  view,  baptism  was  supposed  to 
wash  away.  This  discrepancy  Augustine  pressed  on 
him  energetically  ;  and  it  is  in  the  attack  and  defence 
at  this  point  that  the  Pelagian  controversy  throws  so 
much  light  on  the  question  we  are  investigating.  In 
making  quotations  from  the  parties  in  dispute,  we 
shall  so  mingle  them  chronologically  as  will  in  the 
best  and  briefest  way  show  the  mind  of  the  Church 
on  our  subject  at  that  period,  A.D.  410-430. 

It  was  A.D.  412  that  Augustine  wrote  a  book,  the 
aim  of  which  was  to  show  that  infants  lie  under  the 
guilt  of  original  sin.  Among  the  proofs,  he  cites  their 
baptism.  To  the  objection  that  the}^  are  baptized,  not 
for  the  washing  away  of  sin,  but  that  they  may  be 
made  heirs  of  heaven,  he  replies,  — 

"  If  they  be  questioned  whether  unbaptized  infants, 
and  not   yet  members  of  the  kingdom,  come  to  an 


THE  PELAGIAN  CONTROVERSY.      165 

eternal  salvation  in  the  resurrection  of  the  just,  tliey 
labor  severely,  but  find  no  escape.  For  what  Chris- 
tian can  bear  the  saying  that  any  one  can  enter  into 
eternal  salvation  who  has  not  been  regenerated  in 
Christ,  which  He  has  willed  to  be  done  by  baptism  ?  "  2 

Being  sternly  pressed  for  a  reason  for  baptizing 
infants,  if  not  guilty  of  original  sin,  some  of  the  Pela- 
gians ventured  to  give  the  heathen  notion  of  pre- 
existence,  and  that  for  sins  committed  there  they  are 
now  baptized.  If  Pelagius  could  have  denied  the 
apostolical  authorit}^  of  the  ordinance,  would  he  not 
sooner  have  done  it,  than  resort  to  so  strange  and  for- 
lorn a  reason  ?  This  desperate  plunge  for  relief  shows 
us  how  this  rite  bore  as  a  proof  of  the  doctrine  of 
original  sin.  Nothing  urged  against  Pelagius,  for  deny- 
ing this  doctrine,  gave  him  so  much  trouble  in  reply 
as  the  common  use  of  baptism.  If  it  had  been  pos- 
sible, how  soon  would  he  have  broken  the  very  centre 
of  opposition,  by  showing  that  the  rite  was  an  inno- 
vation and  corruption  in  the  Church !  But  though  so 
tempted  to  make  this  denial  of  its  origin,  and  so  well 
read  in  the  history  of  the  Church  through  the  three 
centuries  between  him  and  the  apostles,  he  did  not 
do  it.  His  knowledge  of  Church  history,  and  of  the  use 
of  the  rite,  evidently  prevented  him.  Augustine 
sees  the  dilemma  of  his  opponents,  and  avails  himself 
of  it  vigorously. 

"  Moreover,  because  they  concede  that  infants  must 


2"QuisenimCliristiaiiorumferat,ciira  clicitnrad?eternauisalutem 
posse  queniqiiaiu  perveuire,  si  non  renascatur  in  Cbristo,  quod  per 
baptismum  tieri  xolnit  ?" —  Be  Feccatorum  Meritis  et  Remissione, 
lib.  i.,  c.  xviiL 


166  THE  CHURCH  AND  HER  CHH^DREN. 

be  baptized,  since  they  cannot  resist  the  authority  of 
the  Church  universal,  no  doubt  derived  from  the  Lord 
and  apostles,"  &c.^ 

And  in  this  same  treatise,  concerning  The  Guilt  and 
Forgiveness  of  Sins,  he  makes  still  more  and  weighty 
declarations  :  "  The  entire  Church  has,  from  ancient 
times,  fii-mly  held  that  the  infants  of  believers  do  secure 
the  pardon  of  original  sin  by  the  baptism  of  Christ."* 

"  I  do  not  remember  to  have  heard  any  thing  to  the 
contrary  from  Christians  who  receive  either  Testa- 
ment, in  the  catholic  Church  or  in  any  heresy  or 
schism.  I  do  not  remember  to  have  read  any  thing  to 
the  contrary  among  those  writing  on  these  subjects, 
whom  I  have  examined,  —  writers  who  have  followed 
the  canonical  Scriptures,  or  believed  they  should  be 
followed,  or  wished  them  to  be  believed."^ 

These  are  very  weighty  sayings.  He  had  never  met 
a  Christian,  catholic  or  heretic,  nor  read  any  author, 
who  thought  otherwise  than  that  the  infants  of  believ- 
ers are  baptized  for  the  forgiveness  of  sin.  He  says 
this  who  was  as  well  fitted,  probably,  as  any  man, 
living  then  or  since,  to  speak  of  the  doctrines  and 


3  "Porro  quid  parvulos  baptizandos  esse  concedunt,  qui  contra 
auctoritatem  universas  ecclesije,  procul  dubio  per  Domiuum  et 
apostolos  traditara,  venire  non  possunt,"  &c.  — Bo.,  Lib.  i.,  c.  xxvi. 

4  "  Antiquitus  uuiversa  ecclesia  retineret,  fideles  parvulos  origi- 
nalis  peccati  remissiouem  per  Clu-isti  baptismum  consecutos."  —  Lib. 
iii.,  4. 

5  "Non  naemini  me  aliud  audivisse  a  Christianis, qui  utrumque 
a(;cipiunt  Testauieutum,  non  solum  in  catbolica  ecclesia,  verum 
etiam  in  qualibet  lueresi  vel  sclusmate  constitutis  :  non  memini  me 
aliud  lepsse  apud  eos,  qxios  de  his  rebus  aliquid  scribentes  lejrere 
potui,  qui  Scripturas  canonioas  sequerentur,  vel  sequi  se  crederent, 
credive  voluissent."  —  Lib.  iii.,  G. 


THE  PELAGIAN  CONTEOVEKSY.  167 

customs  of  the  Church  in  the  three  centuries  between 
him  and  the  apostles. 

Augustine  continues  his  argument,  following  Pela- 
gius  into  that  middle  state,  Unihus  jnwrorum^  where 
the  latter  felt  constrained  to  locate  children  who  died 
unbaptizod,  and  from  which  only  baptism  could  keep 
them.  This  state  and  place  was  paradise,  but  not 
heaven.     Augustine  says,  — 

"  Suppose  an  infant.  If  he  be  with  Clnist  already, 
Avhy  baptize  liim  ?  If  he  be  baptized,  that  he  may  be 
with  Christ,  which  is  tlie  fact,  then  it  is  evident  that 
he  is  not  with  Christ  before  he  is  baptized."  ^ 

Near  the  close  of  A.D.  415,  a  council  of  fourteen 
bishops,  held  at  Diospolis,  brought  Pelagius  to  trial, 
on  several  charges.  Among  them,  he  was  accused  of 
believing  ''  that  infants  unbaptized  may  have  eternal 
life."  This  tenet  he  rejected,  and  agreed,  though 
equivocally,  with  the  bishops  in  the  formula,  "  tliat 
unbaptized  infants  Avill  not  only  fail  of  the  kingdom 
of  heaven,  but  of  eternal  life  also."  "* 

And  so  Pelagius  gave  up  not*  only  his  theory  of 
infant  salvation  without  baptism,  but  also  that  sup- 
plemental or  relief  theory  of  a  middle  place  for  those 
who  had  missed  of  baptism.  This  was  a  great  con- 
cession for  him ;  for,  as  the  baptism  of  infants  was 


6  "  Constitue  igitur  qiiemlibet  parvulum  :  si  jam  ctim  Cliristo  est, 
iitqnid  baptizatur  ?  Si  autein,  quod  habet  Veritas,  ideo  baptizatur, 
ut  sit  ciiTTi  Cbiisto,  adversns  Christum  est,  prcifecto  non  baptizatiis 
iiou  est  cum  Cbristo."  — Lib.  i.,  c.  xxviii. 

~>  "Infantes,  etiam  si  non  baptizentur,  habere  vitam  letei-nam. 
.  .  .  Infantes  non  baptizati,  non  solum  regnum  cadorum,  verum 
etiam  vitam  leteruam  habere  nou  possint."  —  Augustl,  Ei)i8.  ad 
rauUnum,  clxxxvi.,  alias  ovL 


168  THE  CHURCH  AND  HER  CHHJ^REN. 

then  held  to  wash  away  original  sin,  he  virtually 
conceded  that  they  had  it,  by  agreeing  with  the  coun- 
cil that  the  unbaptized  could  not  be  saved.  He  also 
abandoned  his  favorite  theory  of  the  third  state, — 
that  is,  neither  salvation  nor  perdition. 

Pressed  to  so  great  renunciations,  we  may  well 
suppose  that,  if  it  had  been  a  possible  thing  for  him, 
in  the  face  of  the  practice,  traditions,  and  historical 
light  of  that  age,  to  declare  infant  baptism  to  be  a 
merely  human  rite,  and  foisted  into  the  Church,  he 
would  most  certainly  have  done  so.  Such  a  thought 
seems  to  have  been  wholly  foreign  from  the  accused 
and  accusers.  This  shows  how  deeply  and  thoroughly 
the  ordinance  was  then  imbedded  in  the  history  of 
the  Church,  only  about  three  hundred  years  from  the 
living  teaching  of  the  apostles  themselves.  That 
lapse  of  time  would  allow  for  the  germinating  and 
growth  and  adoption  of  a  new  doctrine,  as  it  evi- 
dently had  in  their  common  belief  in  baptismal  regen- 
eration. But  a  new  article  of  faith  is  a  quiet,  unseen, 
mental  growth,  that  may  mature  in  a  brief  time  ; 
while  a  rite,  and  specially  a  sacrament,  like  this  one, 
is  visible,  public,  —  a  thing  for  the  congregation  to 
see,  and  for  the  families  to  study  and  use  in  their 
most  tender  and  interested  relations.  To  dupe  the 
whole  Church,  in  that  space  of  time,  by  the  forgery,  and 
leave  no  trace  or  clew  to  it,  that  a  man  like  Pelagius 
could  find,  —  scholarly,  keen,  and  pushed  vigor- 
ously to  his  defence  as  a  heretic,  —  is  a  presumption 
that  very  few  historical  scholars  would  undertake  to 
defend. 

More  than  this:    the  time  between  the  council  of 


THE  PELAGIAN  CONTROVERSY.  169 

Diospolis  and  the  apostles  must  he  divided,  on  the 
opposing  theory  of  forgery  and  corruption,  hetwecn 
two  forgeries  or  corruptions.  First,  the  rite  of  infant 
baptism  must  have  been  invented,  popularized,  and 
made  authoritative  ;  and  then  it  must  have  been  per- 
verted, to  carry  the  second  forgery  or  corruption  of 
bajjtismal  regeneration  as  the  antidote  of  original  sin. 
And  these  two  impositions  must  liave  come  tandem, 
and  not  abreast,  on  the  Church,  and  both  within  those 
three  centuries.  It  would  have  been  a  great  deliver- 
ance for  Pelagius  if  he  could  have  sliown  any  traces 
of  the  innovations  as  departures  from  the  earlier  usage. 
But  he  not  only  does  not  do  this  :  he  affirms  his  faith 
in  the  rite,  as  of  divine  authority,  in  a  letter  to  Inno- 
cent, bishop  of  Rome.  The  letter  is  preserved  only 
in  the  quotations  of  Augustine,  who  reports  him  as 
saying,  — 

'^  He  was  defamed  by  men  who  said  he  denied  the 
sacrament  of  baptism  to  infants,  and  promised  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  to  some  without  the  redemption 
of  Christ.  .  .  .  He  never  had  heard  even  an  impious 
heretic  say  what  he  was  accused  of  saying  concerning 
infants.  .  .  .  Who  is  so  wicked  as  to  keep  infants 
from  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  while  he  forbids  their 
being  baptized  and  regenerated  in  Christ?  "  ^ 

Coelestius  makes  a  similar  confession  in  his  creed ; 

8"Se  ab  hoiuinibTis  infainari  quod  nej^et  parvulis  baptisini  sacra- 
mentuni,  et  absque  redeniptione  Christi  alicinibiis  ccploruin  re^ia 
proniittat.  .  .  .  Niinqnainse  vel  iinpimu  aliquein  hsereticiim  audi-^se, 
qui  lioc  quod  i)ropo/5uit  de  parvulis,  diceret.  ,  .  .  Delude  (]uis  taiu 
inipius,  qui  parvulos  exsortes  re;^ui  cadoruui  e-?se  velit,  duduni  cos 
baptizari  et  in  Chiisto  reuasci  vetatV"  —  Apiul  August.,  I)c  Pcrc. 
Oriff.,  §§  19,  20. 

15 


170  THE  CHUECH  AND  HER   CHTLDEEN. 

"  That  infants  ought  to  be  baptized  for  the  forgive- 
ness of  sins,  according  to  the  rule  of  the  universal 
Church  and  the  teaching  of  the  gospel,  we  con- 
fess." 9 

Julian,  the  other  triumvir  in  this  Pelagian  defec- 
tion, is  quite  as  positive  as  either  of  the  others.  "  So 
far  from  denying  that  it  is  useful  to  those  of  all  ages, 
we  pronounce  an  eternal  anathema  on  all  who  say  it 
is  not  necessary,  even  for  infants."  ^^ 

The  action  of  three  councils  on  the  Pelagian  heresy 
should  be  stated,  because  it  expresses  the  opinion  of 
large  bodies  of  men,  that  represented  a  wide  extent 
of  country. 

In  the  year  of  our  Lord  416,  a  council  of  sixty- 
eight  bishops  was  convened  at  Carthage  ;  and  in  giving 
an  account  of  their  doings,  in  a  letter  to  Innocent, 
bishop  of  Rome,  they  say,  "  Whoever  denies  that 
infants  are  delivered  from  perdition  and  obtain  eter- 
nal salvation  by  the  baptism  of  Christ,  —  let  him  be 
accursed."  ^^ 

In  the  same  year  a  council  of  sixty-one  bishops 
convened  at  Milevis  for  the  province  of  Numidia.  In 
their  letter  to  Innocent,  they  inform  him  of  their  de- 
liberations concerning  those  who  held  that  "  the  sac- 
rament of  Christian  grace  does  not  profit  infants."  In 
his  reply  Innocent,  speaking  of  the  notion  of  Pelagius, 

8  "  Qiianquam  per  baptismum  Christi  etiara  pai-vnlonim  fieri  re- 
deinptionein,  libello  suo  Ccelestius  in  Cartha.s^niensi  ecclesia  jam 
coufessus  est." — August.  Opera,  Tom,  x.  2383.    Ed.  Paris,  1838. 

10  Apud  August. 

11  "QuicTimque  nen^et  parviilos  per  baptisnnnn  Christi  aperditione 
liT)erari,  et  salutem  jiercipere  senipitemam,  auatLema  sit." — August. 
Epis.  ad  Innocentium,  cbcxv.,  alias  xc. 


THE  PELAGIAN  CONTEOVERSr.  171 

that  infiints  may  be  saved  without  baptism,  calls  it 
perfatuum^  very  absurd.  ^^ 

Another  and  hirger  council  was  held  at  Carthage, 
A.D.  418,  numbering  two  hundred  and  fourteen 
bishops.  As  declaring  against  one  of  the  errors  of 
Pelagius,  they  say,  — 

"  Infants,  who  have  as  yet  not  been  able  to  com- 
mit any  sins  in  their  own  persons,  are  truly  baptized 
for  the  forgiveness  of  sins,  that  they  may  be  cleansed 
by  regeneration  from  that  which  they  contracted  by 
generation."  ^2 

The  historical  survey  now  made  takes  us  back  to- 
ward the  apostles  to  A.D.  410,  and  covers  the  ground 
between  A.D.  410  and  A.D.  430.  By  a  widely  gath- 
ered and  varied  accumulation  of  testimony,  the  prac- 
tice of  infant  baptism  at  that  time  is  made  evident. 
Before  leaving  this  section  of  our  argument,  certain 
things  should  be  said  relative  to  the  evidence. 

From  the  days  of  the  apostles  no  occasion  had 
arisen  to  call  out  and  put  on  record  the  fjxcts  concern- 
ing the  acceptance  and  use  of  this  ordinance,  if  in 
use,  till  the  Pelagian  controversy  agitated  the 
Church.  But  so  soon  as  this  arose,  and  gave  occasion 
to  bring  up  the  practice  of  the  Church,  tlie  testimony 
to  a  general  use  of  this  ordinance  comes  np  from  all 
parts  of  the  Christian  field,  and  in  great  abuiulance. 

12  "  Illud  vero  qiiocl  eos  vestra  fratei-nitas  asserit  prredicare,  par- 
viilos  aeterna;  vitrc  prasmiis  etiam  sine  haptisniatis  gi-atia  posse  don- 
ari,  pei-fatinnn  est  "  —  August.,  Epis.  dxxxii.  alias  xciii. 

13  "Parvuli,  qui  nihil  peccatoruni  in  seipsis  adliuc  coniniittere 
potuernnt,  ideo  in  peccatoruni  reniissioneni  veraciter  baptizantnr, 
lit  in  eis  le^eneiatione  nnindetur  qnod  generatione  traxerant/*  — 
Concil    Carth.,  An.  418,  Can.  Sec. 


172  THE  CHURCH  AND  HER  CHILDREN. 

The  entire  Churcli  is  full  of  evidence  to  the  fact  that 
infant  baptism  was  universal  usage,  and  unquestioned 
as  to  its  apostolical  origin.  Southern  Europe,  North- 
ern Africa,  Asia  Minor,  and  the  Holy  Land  had  but 
one  voice  in  the  matter.  If,  then,  the  rite  had  been 
a  human  invention,  and  introduced  into  the  Church 
after  the  da3^s  of  the  apostles, —  three  hundred  years 
only, —  it  must  have  gone  everywhere  with  the  Church, 
and  imposed  on  it  in  its  most  remote  sections,  and  with 
a  strange  thoroughness. 

It  is  to  be  noted,  too,  that  the  leaders  in  the  Pela- 
gian heresy  were  deeply  interested  to  show  that  in- 
fant baptism  was  a  human  ordinance,  foisted  into  the 
Church.  No  modern  sectary  can  have  so  good  reason 
for  disproving  its  divine  institution.  For  no  argu- 
ment bore  so  heavily  against  them,  as  the  proof  of 
original  sin  from  the  use  of  this  rite  in  the  Church  to 
wash  it  away.  They  resorted  to  many  and  varied 
and  even  absurd  reasons  for  its  practice.  Some  said 
infants  were  not  baptized  for  forgiveness.  Others  said 
the  form  of  forgiveness  was  observed  in  the  ritual, 
not  that  infants  had  sins,  but  that  there  might  not  be 
two  forms  of  baptism.  Some  said  the  formula  merely 
expressed  forgiveness  for  any  who  might  have  sins  to 
be  forgiven.  Others  still  said  that  in  baptism  the 
sins  of  a  pre-existing  state  were  forgiven. 

In  such  extremities  to  account  for  this  practice, 
what  a  relief  would  it  have  been,  if  they  could  have 
pointed  to  any  Church  or  sect,  within  three  hundred 
3'ears,  Avho  had  denied,  disowned,  and  disregarded  tlie 
institution !  But,  instead  of  discovering  and  using  any 
such  comfortable  fact,  Ccelestus  admits  infant  baptism 


THE  PELAGIAN  CONTROVERSY.  173 

to  be  "  the  rule  of  the  universal  Church  ;  "  and  PeUi- 
gius  says  that  "  he  never  had  heard  even  any  impious 
heretic  or  sectary  deny  it."  If  it  had  been  of  human 
origin  these  two  men  were  the  scholars  to  discover  it. 
For  they  were  born  and  bred  for  public  life  ;  and  they 
spent  many  of  their  best  years  at  Rome,  the  very  ear 
of  the  Church  universal,  for  both  facts  and  rumors. 
They  had  both  travelled  extensively,  and  spent  much 
time  in  Northern  Africa,  Egypt,  Palestine,  and  South- 
ern Europe.  Yet  they  never  relieve  themselves,  in 
the  most  difficult  part  of  their  defence,  by  any  inti- 
mation that  the  rite  could  prove  nothing  because  it 
had  no  Scripture  warrant,  or  was  disregarded  by  some 
of  the  ancient  churches. 

It  must  be  noted,  too,  that  this  Pelagian  question 
was  discussed  and  disposed  of  by  seven  councils  and 
synods  before  the  death  of  its  originator,  namely  :  at 
Carthage,  A.D.  412  ;  at  Jerusalem,  A.D.  415 ;  at 
Diospolis,  A.D.  415  ;  at  Mileve  and  Carthage,  A.D. 
416  ;  at  Carthage,  A.D.  417,  and  again  A.D.  418.^^ 
Yet,  in  all  the  controversy  attending  these  convoca- 
tions, in  their  sessions,  and  among  the  churches,  no  dis- 
covery is  made  in  the  tradition  or  usage  of  any  church, 
that  infant  baptism  was  said  by  any  one  to  be  an  innova- 

14  The  acts  of  these  councils,  Carthaj^e,  A.D.  412  and  417,  are  ex- 
tant only  so  far  as  quoted  by  Auj^ustine  and  others.  The  latter  ap- 
pears to  have  acted  on  our  subject  only  so  far  as  to  dissent  from  the 
opinion  of  Zoziiuus,  the  Roman  bishop,  that  he  had  ijiven  in  favor 
of  J*elaj4us  and  Codestius.  The  former  chai'ged  Coilestius  ^vith  de- 
nyinj;  original  sin;  and  lie  defended  himself  by  sayinj;,  that,  what- 
ever he  mij^ht  think  of  the  sins  of  infants,  lie  believed  in  their  bap- 
tism :  Wall,  1 :  HO.  Seventeen  other  councils  or  synods  took  action  on 
the  Pela^'ian  heresies,  after  the  death,  or  rather  disappearance  from 
history,  of  I*elaj,dus.  The  date  of  liis  death  is  uidcnowu. 
15* 


174  THE  CHUECH  AND  HER  CHH^DREN. 

tion,  and  so  of  useless  reference.  On  the  other  hand, 
it  is  difficult  to  conceive  how  the  ordinance,  as  a  hu- 
man invention,  could  have  taken  a  universal  and  un- 
questioned place  in  the  Church  within  so  short  a  time 
of  the  apostles,  and  no  trace  of  its  introduction,  and 
no  remonstrance  against  its  use,  and  no  Church  disre- 
garding it,  be  left  for  the  searching  eye  of  those  who 
were  so  deeply  interested  to  find  such  a  fact. 


GHArXER  XXII. 

AUGUSTINE  ON  INFANT  BAPTISM. 

THE  historical  gleaning  that  we  have  made  for  our 
purpose  out  of  the  Pelagian  controversy,  covering 
a  period  of  twenty  years,  gives  a  prominence,  of  neces- 
sity, to  Augustine.  He  appears  in  this  baptismal 
arena  A.D.  412.  But  he  was  then  in  the  flfty-eiglith 
year  of  his  age,  and  had  been  in  the  Church  twenty- 
five  years,  and  an  ardent  scholar  forty  3^ears.  Before 
he  came  to  this  controversy  he  had  written  and  pub- 
lished extensively  on  Church  questions,  and  is,  there- 
fore, a  most  important  witness  to  be  detained  and 
still  further  examined  in  this  case.  But,  while  we 
hunt  up  more  evidence  in  his  earlier  writings,  we 
shall  do  well  to  regard  what  he  says  to  Jerome  in  a 
letter  written  near  the  close  of  the  Pelagian  struggle. 
In  his  work  on  Free  Will,  written  forty  j-ears  be- 
fore, he  has  made  brief  allusion  to  infant  baptism,  so 
brief,  and  therefore  inexplicit,  that  the  Pelagians 
were  able  to  turn  it  for  their  side.  Of  what  he  wrote, 
and  its  perversion,  he  thus  speaks :  — 

"  In  that  work  I  said  some  things  concerning  the 
baptism  of  infants,  not  largely,  but  as  much  as  seemed 
needful  for  that  book  \jnon  svffic'ienter^  sed  quantum 
nil  operi  satis  videhatur^,  that   it  hel^^s  those  even 

176 


176  THE  CHURCH   AND   HER   CHILDREN. 

who  are  not  sensible  of  it,  and  are  as  yet  without 
personal  faith.  I  did  not  think  it  necessary  then  to 
speak  of  the  condemnation  of  infants  who  die  without 
it,  because  the  controversy  now  pending  was  not 
then  agitated  "  [quia  non  quod  nunc  agitur  agehatur].^ 

It  is  disputed  questions  and  innovations  that  make 
their  full  record  in  the  writings  of  the  times,  while 
conceded  truths  and  common  customs  get  but  inci- 
dental and  wayside  allusions ;  and  therefore  a  lean, 
bald  reference  to  a  usage  is  conclusive  that  it  has  age 
and  fixedness. 

Let  us  proceed  to  gather  in,  at  this  stage  in  our 
investigations  backward,  some  allusions  and  declara- 
tions of  Augustine  concerning  infant  baptism,  that  he 
made  in  his  writings  during  his  twenty-five  Christian 
3'ears  preceding  his  disputes  with  Pelagius. 

The  quotation  we  first  introduce  is  from  a  letter  to 
Jerome,  in  which  the  origin  of  the  soul  is  in  discus- 
sion. Augnstine  wavers  between  the  two  theories 
of  propagation  and  of  creation,  and  says,  — 

''  Before  I  can  decide  which  theory  must  be  taken, 
I  deliberately  say  this:  that  the  true  one  cannot  be 
opposed  to  the  most  firm  and  well-grounded  tenet  by 
which  the  Church  holds  that  the  new-born  children 
of  human  kind  cannot  be  freed  from  condemnation 
except  through  the  grace  of  the  name  of  Christ, 
which  he  has  commended  in  his  sacraments."  ^ 


1  August.,  Epist.  ad  Hiervny,  clxvi.  alias  xxviii. 

2  Anteqnam  sciam  quaenain  earum  potius  eligenda  sit,  hoc  me 
non  temere  sentii-e  proftteor,  earn  quae  vera  est  non  adversaii  rol»ns- 
lissimae  ac  fnndatissimse  fidei,  qua  Christi  ecclesia  nee  parv'ulos 
homines  recentissime  natos  a  damnatione  credit,  nisi  per  gratiani 
nouiinis  Christi  quam  in  snis  sacramentis  commendavit,  posse  libe- 
rari.  —  August.,  Epist,  clvL  alias  xxviii. 


AUGUSTINE  ON  INFANT  BAPTISM.  177 

Any  one  familiar  witli  the  synonyms  and  termin- 
ology of  Augustine,  when  speaking  of  baptism,  will 
not  hesitate  as  to  what  he  means  by  gratlam  nominis 
Chriati.  How  very  firmly  established  in  the  Church 
this  ordinance  was  when  he  wrote  this  epistle,  the 
two  superlatives  indicate, — robustissimce  ac  funda- 
tissimce. 

Another  passage  in  the  same  letter  is  equally  ex- 
pressive :  — 

"  Whoever  says  that  infants  shall  be  made  alive  in 
Christ,  that  die  without  receiving  this  sacrament, 
both  denies  the  apostolic  doctrine  and  condemns  the 
entire  Church  [totani  condemnat  ecclesiam'],  in  which 
men  hurry  and  run  with  their  little  ones  to  be  bap- 
tized." 3 

The  next  extract  about  to  be  made  is  more  weighty 
for  our  purpose,  because  written  several  years  ear- 
lier, and  in  confutation  of  schismatics  who  date  from 
A.D.  312. 

The  sect  of  the  Donatists  originated  in  a  secession 
of  seventy  Numidian  bishops  or  pastors  from  ihe 
African  Church,  on  account  of  alleged  irregularities 
and  corruptions  in  it,  and  became  so  large  as,  at  one 
time,  to  number  more  than  four  hundred  pastors. 
They  refused  to  fellowship  the  mother  Church, 
and  even  denied  the  validity  of  its  ordinations  and 
sacraments,  and  re-baptized  those  who  came  from  it 


8  Qiiisqiiis  dixerit  qiuxl  in  Christo  vivificalnintur  etiam  parviili 
qui  sine  sacranieuti  ejus  participatioue  cle  vita  exeunt,  liic  profecto  et 
contra  apostolicam  pr.npilicationeni  venit,  et  totam  couileninat  ecde- 
siain,  nld  propteieacuin  baptizandis  parvulis  festinatur  et  curritur. 
—  IhidQin. 


178  THE  CHURCH  AND   HEE    CHILDREN. 

to  them.  In  A.D.  400  Augustine  wrote  his  De  Bap- 
tismo  Contra  Donatistas,  and  in  it  argues  the  impiety 
of  re-baptizing.  He  affirms  that  an  impure  and  he- 
retical church  administering,  and  a  wicked  man  receiv- 
ing it,  cannot  make  the  ordinance  invalid  in  that 
case.  He  proves  this  by  citing  the  case  of  those  bap- 
tized in  youth,  and  who  afterwards  were  led  away 
by  error  or  sinful  feelings.  They  grew  up  into  a 
better  knowledge  and  moral  state,  but  did  not  reject 
their  baptism,  as  if  made  worthless  by  their  unworthy 
condition  when  receiving  it.  He  then  appeals  to 
the  practice  of  the  Church  to  sustain  his  position. 

"  If  an}^  one  demands  divine  authority  for  this 
thing,  we  can  very  well  show  what  the  sacrament 
of  baptism  avails  for  infants  from  the  circumcision 
that  a  former  people  received  ;  though  what  the  whole 
Church  practises,  and  was  not  instituted  by  councils, 
but  was  always  held,  may  most  justly  be  believed  to 
be  handed  down  by  apostolic  authority."^ 

Here  is  a  schismatic  Church,  correct  in  faith,  but 
defective  in  polity,  of  a  hundred  years'  standing  in 
its  schism  and  irregularities ;  and  Augustine,  in  his 
argument  to  recover  them,  appeals  to  their  practice 
of  infant  baptism.  The  appeal  carries  this  usage 
back,  as  unquestioned,  a  century  nearer  to  the  apos- 
tles than  the  Pelagian  controversy  found  it.  But 
let  it  be  noted  that  the  point  in  the  quotation  and 

4  "Et  si  qiiisquam  in  liac  re  diviiiam  auctoritatem  quaerat  (quau- 
qnam  quod  universa  tenet  ecc.-lesia,  neo  conoiliis  institutuiu  sed  sem- 
per retentum  est,  nou  nisi  anctoritate  apostolica  traditiun  rectisslnie 
creditur) ;  tanien  veraciter  conjicere  possumus  quid  valeat  in  parvu- 
lis  l)aptisnii  sacranientuni  ex  circiiuicisioue  caruis  quain  prior  popu- 
lus  accepit."  —  Lib.  iv.  c.  24. 


AUGUSTINE  ON   INFANT   BAPTISM.  179 

reference  is  not  authority  for  tlie  rite  of  baptism,  but 
authority  for  its  validity  and  perpetuity  when  once 
properly  administered.  The  argument  of  Augustine 
is  not  for  baptizing  infants,  but  against  re-baptizing 
any  one,  affirming  that  the  church  has  never  done  it ; 
and  m  tliis  affirmation  he  incidentally,  and  so  the 
more  powerfully  for  our  argument,  mentions  infant 
baptism,  as  practised  in  that  seceding  church. 

Augustine  seldom,  if  ever,  argues  for  the  apostolic 
authority  of  this  sacrament  for  infants.  He  implies 
or  affirms  the  fact,  as  not  needing  argument.  So  in 
his  work  on  Genesis,  one  of  his  earliest  writings,  he 
says,  — 

"  The  custom  of  the  mother  Church  in  baptizing 
infants  must  by  no  means  be  slighted  or  esteemed 
useless,  or  thought  to  be  any  thing  else  than  an  apos- 
tolic tradition."  ^ 

No  declaration  of  opinion  could  be  clearer  or 
stronger :  yet  this  is  not  the  language  of  ardent  and 
sharp  controversy,  after  he  had  been  twenty  years  in 
the  Pelagian  conflict.  It  is  the  cool,  scholarly  decla- 
ration of  his  early  Christian  life,  incidentally  made, 
while  inquiring  which  of  the  two  theories  of  the 
origin  of  the  soul  is  correct.  In  concluding  his  re- 
marks on  that  question,  he  says,  that,  let  the  soul 
of  the  infant  originate  as  it  may,  the  sanctifying 
waters  of  its  baptism  must  not  be  omitted. 

The  language  is  not  stronger  or  more  positive  that 


s  "Consiietiido  matris  ecclesiae  in  haptizandis  parviilis  neijna- 
qiiaiii  spernanda  est,  neqiie  ullo  niodo  siiperflua  deputanda,  nee 
omnino  credenda  nisi  apostolica  esse  traditio."  —  De  Genesi,  Lib. 
X.  c.  23. 


180     THE  CHURCH  AND  HER  CHILDREN. 

he  uses  in  a  sermon  preached  and  published  against 
the  Pelagians  many  years  afterward,  and  in  all  the 
warmth  of  that  heated  controversy.  Then  he  says 
of  the  ordinance  of  infant  baptism  and  its  power ,  — 

"  This  the  Church  has  always  had,  always  held : 
this  it  received  from  the  creed  of  the  fathers ;  this  it 
guards  perse veringiy  even  to  the  end."  ^ 

Here  we  take  our  leave  of  this  eminent  Church 
father,  doubly  grateful  to  him,  first,  that  he  has 
made  the  field  of  our  inquiry  so  luminous  with  evi- 
dence from  A.D.  430  to  A.D.  412,  in  his  debates  with 
the  Pelagians ;  and  secondly,  that,  in  his  efforts  to 
reform  the  Donatists  and  others,  he  has  set  beacon 
lights  along  our  path  one  hundred  years  farther  back 
towards  the  apostles,  to  A.D.  312,  when  that  schis- 
matic body  took  organization. 

6  "  Hoc  ecclesia  semper  habiiit,  semper  tenuit ;  hoc  a  majonim 
fide  percepit,  hoc  iisqi;e  in  finem  perseveranter  custodit." — Senmo 
X.  De  Verbis  ApostolL 


CHAPTER  XXTTI. 

INNOCENT  AND   CHRYSOSTOM. 

WE  have  been  traversing  the  primitive  forma- 
tions of  polemic  theology,  yet  only  to  obtain 
what  has  been  incidentally  preserved  in  those  old 
strata.  Others  explore  those  mountain  ranges  to 
quarry  stone  for  the  private  theological  houses  and 
party  breastworks  of  to-day.  We  only  skirt  the  bold 
sides  and  quiet  valleys,  seeking  the  little  fossil  foot- 
prints of  the  children  of  Zion.  So  far  our  search  has 
been  abundantly  repaid.  The  alluvium  of  time  has 
carelessly  covered,  yet  most  faithfully  preserved  in 
their  minutest  delineations,  the  infantile  impressions 
that  we  seek.  So  on  cabinet  slates  of  old  red  sand- 
stone you  will  see  first  the  huge  tracks  of  pre-Adamic 
monsters  ;  but  among  and  between  them,  and  half 
trampled  out  of  sight,  the  delicate  imprints  of  little 
birds  and  insects.  Let  us  now  proceed  to  remove 
other  layers,  and  uncover  deeper  strata,  to  see  what 
may  be  seen. 

Innocent,  the  first  of  that  name  in  the  episcopal 
chair  at  Rome,  was  elevated  to  that  honor  A.D.  402. 
He  wrote  several  epistles  in  which  infant  baptism  is 
mentioned.  Decentius,  a  bishop,  had  written  to 
Innocent,  inquiring  whether  any  one  but   a   bishop 

16  181 


182  THE  CHURCH  AND   HER  CHILDREN. 

could  bestow  the  chrism  or  anointing  to  a  baptized 
infant.     Innocent  replies  as  follows :  — 

'*  Concerning  the  anointing  of  the  foreheads  of 
infants,  it  surely  cannot  be  done  except  b}^  a  bishop. 
.  .  .  The  presbyters,  when  they  baptize  in  the 
presence  or  absence  of  the  bishop,  may  properly 
anoint  the  baptized,  if  the  chrism  has  been  prepared 
by  the  bishop  ;  but  it  is  not  proper  for  them  to  anoint 
the  forehead  with  the  same,  which  service  belongs  to 
the  bishops  alone."  ^ 

Again,  in  a  letter  to  a  synod  at  Toledo,  on  qualifi- 
cations for  entering  the  ministry,  he  says,  — 

"  A  certain  law  declares  that  particular  ones  only 
may  be  elected  into  the  clerical  order, —  to  wit,  those 
who  were  baptized  in  infancy."  ^ 

He  here  speaks  of  those  little  observances  that 
pertain  to  an  old  custom,  and  that,  by  their  very 
antiquity,  have  become  rules  and  regulations.  Form- 
alism in  non-essentials  is  of  slow  growth,  and  the 
accretion  of  time  ;  and  the  small  items  mentioned  in 
these  two  extracts  are  evidence  that  this  rite  had 
long  been  in  use,  and  that  law  had  sprung  up  out  of 
mere  habits  in  it. 

Chrysostom  is  not  without  testimony  on  this  sub- 
ject.     Though   not   a    topic   inviting   his  oratorical 


1  "  De  oonsi<:piandis  vero  infantibus,  inariifestum  est  nnn  ab  altero 
quam  episcopo  fieri  licere.  ,  .  .  Presbyteris  sen  extra  episcopiiin, 
sen  presente  episcopo  cxun  bax)tizant,  chrismate  baptizatos  iin.i^ere 
licet,  seel  qnod  ab  episcopo  fiierit  consecratum;  non  taiiien  fonteiu 
ex  eodeui  oleo  signare,  quod  solis  debetur  episcopis." — Ad  Decenti., 
Can.  3. 

2  "Qui  ab  ineunte  ietate  baptizati  iueTint."  —  Ad.  Syn.  Tolet. 
Cau.  5. 


INNOCENT   AND   CHRYSOSTOM.  183 

powers,  and  one  in  which  he  was  no  way  involved  by 
controversy,  it  yet  so  lay  at  the  very  door  of  the 
Church,  that  it  gained  some  w^ayside  notices  from 
him. 

He  wrote  a  homily,  Ad  Baptizatos  (To  the  Bap- 
tized), not  now  extant  in  Greek,  but  quoted  by  Julian 
and  Augustine.  One  passage  cited  by  Julian  against 
Augustine  to  prove  that  Chrysostora  rejected  the 
doctrine  of  original  sin,  as  commonly  held  then  by 
the  Church,  is  as  follows  :  — 

"  You  see  that  baptism  has  many  benefits,  while 
some  think  this  grace  of  heaven  brings  only  forgive- 
ness of  sins.  I  have  stated  ten  benefits  from  it.  We 
baptize  infants  for  this  reason,  that,  though  not  pol- 
luted by  any  sin,  they  may  thus  obtain  sanctity, 
righteousness,  adoption,  the  inheritance  and  fellow- 
ship of  Christ."  3 

On  baptism,  as  compared  with  circumcision,  we 
have  his  own  words  as  follows  :  — 

"  Our  circumcision  —  I  speak  of  that  of  baptism 
—  has  pleasure  without  suffering  and  healing,  is  the 
minister  of  a  thousand  benefits,  and  fills  us  with  the 
blessing  of  the  Spirit.  Nor  has  it  any  determinate 
time,  as  the  other ;  but  one  in  immature  age  and  in 


3  "Yifles  quot  sunt  haptisinatis  lar^tates:  et  nonnulli  deputant 
crplestem  gratiaiu  in  peccatoruni  tautiini  reniissione  consistere;  nos 
auteni  honores  coniputavinms  deoeni.  Hac  de  causa  etiaTu  infantes 
l>aptizanius,  cuni  non  sint  coinquinati  peccato,  nt  eis  addatur  sanc- 
titas,  justitia,  a<lopti<),  luiireditas,  fraternitas  Christi,  ut  ejus  luembra 
sint."  — August.,  contra  Jul.,  Lib.  i.  21, 


184     THE  CHUKCH  AND  HER  CHILDREN. 

middle  life  and  in  old  age  may  receive  this  circum- 
cision that  is  without  hands."  * 

The  application  of  this  passage  to  infants  turns 
somewhat  on  the  meaning  of  dapo)^  which,  in  the  pre- 
ceding homily,  Chrysostom  uses  in  describing  the  in- 
fant when  receivinor  circumcision.  "  The  new-born 
child,  who  cannot  then  understand  what  is  being 
done,"  &C.     to  ydo  dcoQov  madiov,  x.t.L 

In  another  place  he  bewails  the  carelessness  of 
those  who  have  received  baptism,  but  make  little  or 
no  spiritual  use  of  it. 

"  The  catechumens,  so  regarding  it,  pay  no  atten- 
tion to  a  godly  life ;  and  those  who  have  been 
enlightened  [baptized],  some  of  them  being  children 
when  they  received  it,  and  some  in  sickness  and  long 
delaying,  have  no  desire  to  live  for  God,"  &c.^ 

Chrysostom  here  laments  over  the  same  neglect 
that  we  see  and  lament,  in  those  who  were  dedicated 
in  their  infancy  to  God,  and  yet  take  no  spiritual  and 
practical  views  of  their  relations  to  God  and  his 
Church,  in  consequence  of  that  dedication. 

He  had  those  in  his  Church  who  had  not  thrown 
off  all  the  heathen  superstitions  of  their  unconverted 

^  }}  6e  TjfxeTEpa  nepLTOix?j,  rj  tov  jSaTTTiafiaTog,  Piyw,  X^^pi-C  avudrnvv  txn 
TTjv  iarpdav  koI  fcvpiuv  uya-ttuv  Tzpb^evoc  yiverai  rjfuv,  koL  ttjq  toI  Tivev- 
fiaroQ  rjfiaa  sfiTtcTrTujai  x^'-pi-'^^Q-  Kat  bvyt  cjptafiivov  ixtt  Koipdv  Ka&airep 
eKel,  aTJJ  l^eari  kol  h  uupu  i/luiia  Koi  kv  fx^ay,  kcu  ev  avTu  ru  yijpa  yevo- 
fievijv  TLva  tqvttjv  de^aodcu  rfjv  uxEpo~OLT]-ov  ircpuroiiTjv. — Horn,  xl.,  in 
Genesin. 

S    01  /J£V  OVV  KaiJiXoi'/J^EVOi  TOVTO   aTTOvdu^OVTEC   OvdE/UaV    TTOIOVVTCU    tTTifii- 

Xeuzv  op^ov  (3iov.  01  de  j/dij  (*>urLo&evTEg,^  oi  fiEv  ettu  Trcudec  ovTEg  rovro 
£Aa/3ov.  K.  T.  A.  —  Horn,  xxiii.,  in  Acta.  Apost. 

1  ^uTi^ti  is  a  common  synonym  with  the  Greek  Fathers  for  /3a7r- 


INNOCENT  AND   CHRYSOSTOM.  185 

state.  Some  of  those  were  accustomed  to  anoint  the 
foreheads  of  tlieir  babes  with  a  magical  preparation, 
as  a  safeguard  or  charm  against  witches.  He  exhorts 
them  against  the  pagan  ceremony  after  this  man- 
ner :  — 

"  Defiling  his  cliikl  thus,  does  he  not  see  that  he 
makes  it  disgusting  ?  How  can  he  bring  it  to  the 
hands  of  the  minister  ?  Tell  me,  liow  can  you  think 
it  fitting  for  the  seal  to  be  j)laced  on  its  forehead  by 
the  hand  of  the  presbyter,  when  you  have  polluted 
it?"6 

No  one  will  fail  to  perceive  the  reference  here  to 
the  rite  of  infant  consecration.  No  other  early  usage 
in  the  Church  fills  out  the  allusion. 

These  extracts  from  Chrysostom,  if  left  standing 
thus  solitary,  would 'not  serve  the  ends  of  historic 
justice  in  this  discussion.  The  patriarch  of  Con- 
stantinople, and  his  relations  to  the  times,  should  be 
regarded. 

Chrysostom  was  born  about  A.D.  347,  at  Antioch  ; 
ordained  deacon  A.D.  381,  and  presbyter  A.D.  386, 
and  Patriarch  of  Constantinople  A.D.  387.  Early 
devoting  himself  to  Christ  and  the  Church,  he  was  a 
monk,  an  eremite,  and  an  earnest,  distinguished 
scholar ;  and  commenced  authorship  at  the  age  of 
twenty-six,  A.D.  373,  dying  at  the  age  of  sixty. 
Few  names  have  been  so  eminent  in  the  Eastern 
Church.     His  knowledge,  as  his  influence,  was  very 

6  'O  BupfiupC)  xpi-^v  TTwf  bvxf-  Koi  (3delvKTdv  ttouI  rd  Traidlov ;  11  wf  yup 
avrb  TzpoaavH  rale  A^fp^f  tov  Itpecjt; ;  E/tte  /iOi,  nuq  «^?of  inl  tov  (lETunov 
o<ppayi/>a  iniTe^T/vcu  napa  Tijg  tov  7rpea(3vT£pov  x^'^P^i  tv&a  tov  jSopftopov 
eirexpioac. — Ilom.  xii,,  in  1  Epis.  ad  Corintlios. 
IG* 


186  THE  CHUECH  AND  HER  CHCLDEEN. 

extensive  ;  and,  as  a  legacj^  to  the  Christian  Church, 
he  left  more  than  twelve  hundred  sermons,  homilies, 
and  exegetical  discourses,  and  two  hundred  and  fifty 
epistles,  besides  a  miscellany  of  tracts. 

Such  a  man  could  not  speak  as  he  does  of  infant 
baptism,  if  it  weVe  a  novelty,  or  had  only  a  partial 
and  equivocal  place  among  the  rites  of  the  Church. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

FOUR   COUNCILS,   AND   SIRICIUS. 

WE  pass  now  from  one  witness  to  many,  from  a 
man  to  a  conncil.  In  those  early  and  barbarous 
times,  when  Christianity  was  working  its  way  into 
the  kingdom  of  darkness  by  slow  and  perilous  steps, 
Christian  villages  and  families  were  subject  to  raids 
from  the  heathen,  for  pillage  and  capture  and  slaugh- 
ter. In  these  incursions  it  often  happened,  as  on  our 
Indian  frontier,  that  children  were  carried  off  by  the 
pagans,  and  in  after  years  would  be  re-captured  or 
ransomed.  So  it  was  in  Northern  Africa,  in  the  times 
to  which  we  have  now  come  in  our  backward  move- 
ment. 

Little  ones  so  seized  and  carried  off  had  been 
redeemed  by  the  Mauritanian  Christians.  But,  when 
brought  back,  they  had  so  outgrown  the  memories 
of  their  childhood  and  of  their  early  friends,  as  to 
be  unable  to  tell  whether  they  had  been  baptized  or 
not.  Then  the  question  arose,  whether  they  should 
be  baptized  at  the  hazard  of  a  re-baptism,  or  not  be 
baptized  at  the  hazard  of  never  being  baptized.  The 
case  of  such  was  submitted  to  the  fifth  Council  of 
Carthage,  A.D.  400  ;  and  they  gave  judgment  as 
found  in  their  Sixth  Canon :  — 

187 


188  THE   CHURCH  AND   HER   CHHJ^REN. 

"  As  to  those  infants  concerning  whom  no  witnesses 
can  be  found  who  are  able  to  testify  beyond  a  doubt 
that  they  have  been  baptized,  and  who  themselves 
cannot  answer,  on  account  of  age,  whether  the  sacra- 
ments have  been  administered  to  them,  it  is  resolved 
that  they  may  be  baptized  without  any  scruple,  lest 
that  scruple  deprive  them  of  the  purification  of  the 
sacraments.  For  our  Mauritanian  brethren  have  come 
to  us  with  this  question,"  &c.^ 

It  will  be  seen  at  a  glance,  that  this  rite  must  at 
that  time  have  been  owned  and  unquestioned  in  the 
African  Church,  or  this  double  solicitude  could  not  have 
been  raised  and  brought  to  the  deliberation  and  decision 
of  a  council ;  for  there  was  the  fear  that  the  persons 
might  fail  of  baptism  wholly  by  its  being  now  with- 
held, and  the  fear  of  repetition  if  now  administered, 
—  of  both  which  errors  the  Church  then  had  a  dread. 

The  third  council  of  Carthage,  A.D.  397,  was 
called  to  view  this  question  of  infant  baptism  from 
another  standpoint ;  but  their  testimony  is  to  the 
same  point  for  us,  only  the  better  for  its  variations. 
We  have  already  spoken  of  the  origin  of  the  sect  of 
the  Donatists,  and  their  notions.  About  the  time  of 
this  council  that  party  was  breaking  up,  and  showing 
a  willingness  to  come  back  into  the  mother  Church. 
It  was  therefore  debated  in  this  council,  whether 
any  retm-ning  from  that  schism  should  be  admitted  to 

1  Placuit  (le  infautilms  quoties  noii  in veiiiuntur  certissimi  testes 
qui  eos  baptizatos  esse  sine  duhitatioiie  testentur,  neque  ipsi  sunt 
per  jBtatein  idoncl  de  tvaditis  sibi  sacramentis  re^pondere,  absque 
ullo  scrnpulo  eos  esse  baptizandos  ;  ne  ista  trepidatio  eos  faciat  sacra- 
mentoruni  puru^atioiie  privari.  PTiuc  eniiii  le<,'ati  Maurorivm  fiatrea 
nostri,  &c.  —  L.vbdei,  Concil.  Carthcuj.  Quint. 


FOUR   COUNCILS,   AND   SIRICIUS.  189 

office  ill  the  Church.  There  was  a  division  of  the 
question  for  answer.  It  was  agreed  that  those  who 
went  over  to  the  Donatists,  and  were  re-baptized  by 
them,  might  return  to  the  Catholic  Church,  but  only 
to  the  rank  of  la3^men.  As  to  those  born  among  the 
Donatists,  and  baptized  among  them  in  infancy,  the 
council  agreed  to  ask  advice  of  two  bishops  outside 
the  region  of  the  schism,  and  so  more  likely  to  be 
unbiased  by  local  prejudices.  They  selected  Sim- 
plicianus.  Bishop  of  Milan,  and  Siricius,  Bishop  of 
Rome.  The  request  for  judgment  is  made  in  Canon 
48  of  this  council :  — 

"  As  to  the  Donatists,  it  is  resolved  that  we  will 
consult  our  brother  bishops  Siricius  and  Simplicianus, 
concerning  the  infants  only  who  were  baptized  among 
them,  —  whether  that  which  they  did  without  their 
own  consent  shall  hinder  them,  as  the  error  of  their 
parents,  from  ministration  in  sacred  things,  when,  with 
a  proper  feeling,  they  may  be  turned  again  to  the 
Church  of  God."  2 

It  would  seem  that  these  two  referees  judged  that 
infants  so  baptized  might  be  office-bearers  afterward 
in  the  true  Church.  At  least,  a  council  at  Carthage, 
four  years  afterward,  affirmed  this  point  without 
doubt  or  reference.  This  evidence  is  auxiliary  to 
what  we  have  before  had,  showing  that  this  schismatic 
Church,  originating  A.D.  312,  had  infant  baptism  as 

2  De  Donatistis,  placniit  lit  consulainiis  fratres  et  consacerdotes 
nostros,  Sirioiiim  et  Simpliciammi,  de  solis  infantibus  qui  haptizantiir 
penes  eosdem,  ne  quod  suo  uou  fecerunt  judicio,  cum  ad  ectle-iani 
Dei  salubri  propositofuerint  conversi,  parentuui  illos  error  inipediat, 
ne  proveliautur  saori  altaris  ininistri.  —  Labbei,  Concil.  Carthaf/. 
Tert.,  Can.  xlviii. 


190     THE  CHURCH  AND  HER  CHILDREN. 

one  of  its  rites.  Had  the  mother  Church  or  her  way- 
ward African  child  originated  this  rite,  or  admitted 
it  as  a  novelty  during  this  period  of  separation,  — 
almost  a  century,  —  there  must  have  been  some  in- 
timations, affirmations,  or  denials  about  it,  Avhen,  in 
those  two  councils,  and  in  the  reference  of  the  ques- 
tion to  two  foreign  bishops,  they  were  agitating  so 
delicate  and  important  a  point,  and  Avere  making  the 
holding  of  office  in  the  Church  to  turn  on  it.  It  must 
be  conceded,  in  view  of  these  facts,  that  the  rite  of 
infant  baptism  was  common  in  the  Church  as  early  at 
least  as  A.D.  312. 

The  question  raised  and  decided  in  the  fifth  coun- 
cil of  Carthage,  A.D.  400,  was  also  discussed  in  the 
council  of  Hippo  Regius,  A.D.  393.  This  Numidian 
council  is  the  one  that  established  the  canon  of  Scrip- 
ture in  its  full  and  final  integrity.  These  bishops  de- 
cided, that,  where  there  was  no  certain  proof  that  a 
person  had  been  baptized  in  infancy,  the  rite  might  be 
administered.  But  their  judgment  and  advice  seem 
to  have  been  somewhat  neglected ;  for,  in  a  synodical 
letter  of  A.D.  397,  it  is  implied  that  a  complaint  for 
neglect  had  come  before  them  ;  and  they  enjoin  action 
in  this  breviat :  "  Concerning  those  who  have  no 
sure  evidence  that  the}^  have  been  baptized,  let  them 
be  baptized."  3 

Let  us  now  continue  our  approach  nine  years 
nearer  to  the  times  of  the  apostles,  and  take  the  testi- 
mony from  Siricius  at  the  time  of  his  induction  as 


3  De  his  qm  nullo  testimonio  se  baptizatos  novenmt  lit  baptizen- 
tur.  —  Centurice  Magdeburg.    Cent,  iv.  c.  9. 


FOUR   COUNCILS,   AND   SIRICIUS.  101 

Bishop  of  Rome,  A.D.  384.  When  he  entered  this 
office  he  found  there  iin  unanswered  letter  from 
Ilimerius,  bishop  of  Aragon.  In  this  letter  he  is 
informed  that  in  Spain  they  had  been  accustomed  to 
baptize  on  almost  any  occasion  of  a  general  religious 
gatliering.  To  this  Siricius  objects,  in  his  reply, 
with  a  decided  dissatisfaction,  and  sa3^s  that  Pente- 
cost and  Easter  are  the  only  proper  occasions  for 
baptism,  with  specified  exceptions,  as  thus :  — 

''As  to  infants,  who,  from  their  age,  are  not  yet 
able  to  speak  [make  confessions  and  renunciations], 
and  others  who  from  any  necessity  may  be  in  imme- 
diate need  of  the  sacred  water  of  baptism,  he  would 
hasten  to  their  relief,  lest  it  turn  to  our  ruin  if  the 
saving  Avater  be  denied  to  them  needing,  and  any  one 
of  them  should  die  losing  the  kingdom  and  life.  If 
one  is  in  danger  from  shipwreck,  or  the  attack  of  an 
enemy,  or  siege,  or  if  any  dangerous  sickness  come 
on  one  and  he  desire  this  aid  of  our  faith,  let  him 
have  the  gifts  of  regeneration  in  the  very  moment 
when  lie  asks  for  them."  ^ 

Siricius  furnishes  us  with  another  item  of  weight  in 
the  same  letter,  where  he  is  upbraiding  the  Spanish 
bishops  for  inducting  into  the  ministry  those  who  had 
been  but  recently  converted  to  Christianity. 

"  He  who  dedicates  himself  to  the  services  of  the 
Church  should  have  been  baptized  in  his  infancy,  be- 

*  Ita  infantibiis  qui  necdnm  loqiii  potnerint  per  ajtatem,  vel  his 
quihiis  in  qualibet  necessitate  opus  fuerit  sacra  nnda  haptisniatis, 
onini  volnnius  celeritate  succurri,  ne  ad  nostraruni  pernicieni  tendat 
aniniannn,  si  ne<;ato  desiderantibus  fonte  salntari,  exiens  nnus(]nis- 
que  de  seciilo  et  reguiuu  x>erdat  etvitaui. — Siiuci.  Episwp.  Decrei. 
Epist.  Prima,  c.  2. 


192     THE  CHURCH  AND  HER  CHILDREN. 

fore  the  years  of  youth,  and  been  accustomed  to  the 
duties  of  the  readers."  ^ 

In  these  several  passages  just  now  cited,  in  which 
either  councils  or  individuals  make  reference  to  this 
ordinance,  many  minor  points  and  side  issues  are 
brought  out.  The  questions  are  raised :  Who  may  ap- 
ply the  chrism  that  accompanies  baptism  ;  what  graces 
are  conferred  by  it ;  whether  its  administration  is 
confined  to  any  particular  time  ;  neglect  of  its  obli- 
gations is  rebuked,  and  heathen  defilement  of  the 
babe's  forehead  before  baptism ;  whether  those  may 
receive  the  ordinance  who  are  uncertain  as  to  a  prior 
baptism;  whether  valid,  if  administered  by  here- 
tics and  schismatics ;  whether  those  so  baptized  may 
enter  the  ministry ;  whether  the  time  of  administra- 
tion may  be  hastened  in  case  of-  mortal  peril ;  and 
whetlier  one  may  enter  on  the  sacred  offices  of  the 
Church  who  Avas  not  baptized  in  infancy. 

These  questions  were  discussed  and  answered,  in 
places  wide  asunder,  as  in  Spain,  Italy,  Africa,  and 
Asia  Minor.  It  is  difficult  to  conceive  of  such  a  gen- 
eral and  varied  discussion  of  the  same  thing,  unless 
the  rite  were  at  the  same  time  general  in  the  Church. 
It  could  not  have  been  isolated  and  rare  cases,  that  led 
to  this  wid^  expression  of  views,  as  if  it  were  then 
beginning  stealthily  to  intrude  itself  among  the  ap- 
pointments of  God  for  his  house.  It  was  an  ordi- 
nance not  only  at  home  in  some  regions  and  Churches, 
but  it  was  at  home  everywhere  in  the  Church.     And 

5  Quicumque  iptur  se  ecclesire  vovet  obseqniis,  a  sua  infantia  ante 
pubertatis  annos  baptizari,  et  lectorum  debet  miuisterio  sociari. 
—  Ibidem,  c.  9. 


FOUR  COUNCILS,   AND   SIRICIUS.  193 

it  had  evidently  been  so,  for  so  long  n  time,  that 
neither  the  memory  of  man,  nor  the  record  of  coun- 
cil, nor  the  writings  extant  of  any  author,  run  back  to 
the  contrary.  It  is  also  difficult  to  conceive  of  such 
a  discussion  over  issues  trivially  related  to  the  main 
point  and  rite  itself,  within  three  hundred  years  of  the 
apostles,  and  no  intimation  be  made  by  an}^  one  of 
the  variously  related  and  often  excited  parties,  that  it 
was  a  human  ordinance,  of  which  the  apostles  had  no 
knowledge,  and  that  therefore  it  was  a  non-essential 
to  Church  order.  In  the  conflicts  of  opinion  concern- 
ing doctrines  and  rights  and  duties  related  to  this  or- 
dinance, and  in  the  necessary  study  for  the  authority 
of  precedents,  stimulated  often  by  intense  partisan 
feelings,  how  is  it  possible,  if  the  rite  were  not  apos- 
tolic, that  its  invention,  and  intrusion  into  the  Church 
should  not  be  discovered  and  declared  ? 

While  no  one  before  the  times  of  Pelagius  was  as 
much  interested  as  he  to  deny  or  disprove  the  apos- 
tolic origin  of  the  sacrament,  many  were  so  deeply 
involved  in  issues  related  to  it,  that  they  could  have 
eased  off  the  force  of  many  an  argument,  and  hushed 
the  scruples  of  conscience  many  times,  if  they  could 
only  have  known  and  felt  and  said  that  Infant  Bap- 
tism came  into  the  Church  after  the  apostles  had  left 
the  world.  But,  so  far  as  our  survey  has  extended, 
history  gave  them  no  warrant  for  such  an  assumption : 
no  one  made  it. 

17 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

AMBROSE    OF    IVIILAN,   BASIL,    GKEGORY    NAZTANZEN, 
AND   OPTATUS. 

IN  continuing  our  inquiries  on  the  practice  of  In- 
fant Baptism  in  the  times  immediately  following 
the  age  of  the  apostles,  we  come  next  to  Ambrose  of 
Milan.  This  step  carries  us  ten  years  nearer  to  the 
apostles,  as  Siricius,  our  last  authority,  was  made 
bishop  A.D.  384,  and  Ambrose  A.D.  374.  lie  was 
an  evangelical,  devout,  energetic,  and  scholarly  man  in 
the  Church.  Though  in  the  Latin  branch  of  it,  he 
read  the  Greek  fathers,  mingled  freely  in  the  contro- 
versies of  the  times,  and  wrote  extensively,  twenty 
volumes  at  least,  besides  ninety  tractates,  or  letters  so 
called.  As  our  topic  was  not  then  in  dispute,  we 
find  in  the  writings  of  this  father  only  wayside  allu- 
sions to  it,  whose  power,  of  course,  is  inversely  as 
their  direct  and  polemic  character. 

In  his  commentary  on  St.  Luke,  he  traces  a  re- 
semblance between  John  the  Baptist  and  Elias,  while 
remarking  on  the  words,  "  He  shall  go  before  him  in 
the  spirit  and  power  of  Elias."  In  tracing  the  par- 
allelism he  says,  that  they  were  both  in  the  desert ; 
both  fed  on  coarse  food,  —  one  locusts,  and  the  other 
what  the  ravens  furnished ;  both  rebuked  kings, —  the 

194 


AMBROSE  OF  MILAN.  105 

one  Aliiib,  and  the  other  Herod  ;  and  after  other  points 
in  the  comparision,  he  says,  ''The  one  turned  back 
Jordan,  the  other  turned  men  to  the  waters  of  sal- 
vation." 1 

He  then  continues  his  remarks  on  the  miracle  of 
Elias  in  dividing  Jordan  after  tliis  manner:  "  Per- 
liaps  this  may  appear  to  be  fulfilled  in  our  day  and  in 
that  of  the  apostles.  For  that  flowing  of  the  Avaters 
back  to  the  source  of  the  river,  in  the  division  of  it  by 
Elias  (as  the  Scripture  says,  Jordan  was  turned  back), 
signified  the  sacrament  of  the  waters  of  salvation, 
about  to  be  instituted,  by  which  little  children,  who 
are  baptized,  are  reformed  from  their  corruption  back 
to  the  primitive  condition  of  their  nature."  ^ 

The  reference  of  the  bishop  to  the  washing  away 
of  original  sin  in  baptism  is  nothing  to  our  j)urpose. 
The  use  of  the  ordinance  is  our  point  of  inquiry. 
Of  the  abuse  of  it  we  have  sufficiently  spoken  for  a 
treatise  of  this  kind  while  we  Avere  sifting  the  Pela- 
gian controversy.  Later  Church  historians  will  not 
probably  find  all  the  errors  and  excesses  of  "  the 
fathers  "  confined  to  the  first  three  or  four  Christian 
centuries. 

In  speaking  of  Abraham,  in  his  work  on  the  patriarch, 
as  enjoined  to  circumcise  infants,  he  says  that  the  law 
very  reasonably  imposed  the  rite  on  every  male  infant, 

1  Ille  Jordanem  divisit,  liio  a<l  lavacnini  salutai'econvertit. 

2  "  Sed  fortasse  hoc  sTijira  iios  et  supra  apostolos  videatiir  exple- 
tum.  Nam  ille  sul)  Elia  diviso  aiiiiie  tluvialiuni  recursiis  undarimi 
in  oiiginein  fliuniuis  (sic.-tit  dicit  St-riptiira,  Jordanes  conversiis  est 
retrorsnm)  sij^iilicat  salutaris  lava<Ti  fiitiira  luysteria,  per  quie  in 
priuiordia  natune  sure  cpii  l)aptizati  fueriut  parviili  a  lualitia  refor- 
luautur."  —  Comment  in  >St.  Lucce,  c.  1. 


196     THE  CHURCH  AND  HER  CHILDREN. 

even  those  of  the  bond-servant,  that  the  remedy  might 
be  as  extensive  as  the  disease,  and  come  on  the  child 
as  early  as  his  danger.  He  includes  the  proselyte  by 
saying,  that  every  race  as  well  as  age  is  exposed,  and 
by  the  law  was  required  and  expected  to  be  protected. 
Showing  a  spiritual  meaning  over  circumcision  and 
baptism,  he  says  the  import  of  the  rite  is  plain. 
Those  born  in  the  house  are  Jews  ;  and  the  purchased 
are  Gentile  believers  ;  and  both  must  be  circumcised 
from  sin,  if  they  would  be  saved.  "  Both  the  home 
born  and  the  foreign,  the  clean  and  the  unclean,  must 
be  circumcised  by  the  forgiveness  of  sins,  so  as  to  sin 
no  more ;  since  no  one  enters  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
except  by  the  sacrament  of  baptism."  ..."  For  ex- 
cept one  be  born  again,  of  water  and  the  Holy  Spirit, 
he  cannot  .enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God,"  quoting 
the  words  of  Christ.  Then  he  continues,  "  He  ex- 
cepts no  one,  not  an  infant,  not  one  prevented  by  any 
necessity."  ^ 

These  two  citations  from  a  witness,  born  A.D. 
333,  and  dying  A.D.  397,  are  as  good  proof  of  the 
practice  of  this  rite  commonly  in  that  period,  as 
though  he  had  devoted  whole  chapters  and  tractates 
to  it.  The  bishop  of  Milan  evidently  had  other 
work  than  writing  largely  on  an  ordinance  generally 
received  and  practised,  as  from  the  apostles. 

3  "  Ergo  et  Jiidneus  et  Grrecus,  et  qiiiciiniqne  crediderit,  dehet 
scire  se  circnimcidere  a  peccatis,  ut  possit  salvus  fieri.  Et  doiuesti- 
cus,  et  alienigena,  et  jastiis,  et  peccator  circiiiucidatur  reiuissioue 
liecoatoniiu,  ut  iDeccatum  non  operetur  amplius;  quia  nemo  adscendit 
in  reguuiu  cailonim,  nisi  per  sacranientuni  baptism atis.  .  .  .  Nisi 
enim  quis  renatus  fuerit  ex  aqua  et  Sj>iritu  Sancto  non  potest  in- 
troire  iu  regnnm  Dei.  Utique  nullum  excipit,  non  infantem,  non 
aliqua  pnuventuui  necessitate."  —  Ajmbbosu  de  Abi-aham,  Lib.  ii. 
c.  11. 


AMBROSE  OF  MILAN.  197 

The  careful  reader  will  here  note  one  of  those 
synonyms  for  baptism,  of  which  the  early  Christian 
writers  made  so  free  a  use,  and  of  which  we  shall 
lind  a  great  variety  as  we  'proceed.  ''  Circumcised 
by  the  forgiveness  of  sins,  since  no  one  enters  the 
kingdom  of  lieaven  except  by  the  sacrament  of  bap- 
tism." Here,  evidently,  Ambrose  uses  "  the  forgive- 
ness of  sins,"  and  "  the  sacrament  of  baptism,"  as 
meaning  one  and  the  same  thing.  So  in  the  quota- 
tion above  made  from  his  Commentary  on  St.  Luke, 
he  calls  baptism  "  the  sacrament  of  the  waters  of 
salvation."  Augustine  expresses  baptism  by  "  the 
grace  of  the  name  of  Christ."  *  Chrysostom  calls  it 
"  circumcision ; "  "  our  circumcision,  —  I  speak  of  that 
of  baptism  ;  "  ^  and  "  enlightening  "  ^  and  ''  the 
seal."  '^     Siricius  calls  it  "  the  saving  water."  ^ 

As  Ave  proceed,  the  reader  will  find  the  following 
words  and  phrases  as  common  synonyms  for  baptism  : 
"  The  circumcision  of  Christ,"  "  washinor  of  recren- 
eration,"  ''  sanctification,"  "  consecration,"  "  regener- 
ation," "  the  laver  of  regeneration,"  "  the  laver  of 
salvation,"  ''  the  enlightening,"  "  born  of  water," 
"  spiritual  circumcision,"  "  sacrament  of  eternal  sal- 
votion,"  "  renewal,"  &c. 

In  the  citation  of  any  passages  where  these  terms 
occur,  the  text  itself,  or  the  context,  will  readily 
show  that  nothing  else  than  baptism  can  be  meant. 
Those  early  writers  thus  used  varied  expressions  for 
the  one  act  of  baptism,  as  we  use  the  words  christen, 
consecrate,  and  dedicate,  for  baptize. 


p.  17G.    6  p.  183.     6  p.  1S4.    7  p.  185.    8  p.  191. 
17* 


198     THE  CHUECH  AND  HER  CHTLDEEN. 

Basil,  a  fiither  eminent  in  the  Greek  Church,  was 
born  about  A.D.  329.  He  pursued  his  studies  at 
Constantinople,  Antioch,  and  Athens.  At  first  a 
hermit,  he  became  successively  a  deacon,  a  presbyter, 
an  assistant  bishop,  and  then  sole  bishop  of  Neo- 
Ccesarea.  He  was  an  able  theologian,  and  an  efficient 
manager  in  ecclesiastical  affairs.  He  is  introduced 
here  among  the  ancient  witnesses  for  infant  baptism, 
not  because  he  has  written  abundantly  or  with  pecu- 
liar directness  on  the  subject,  though  his  testimony 
has  weight,  but  because  some  things  said  by  him  have 
been  made  to  bear  as^ainst  this  ordinance  as  existinsc 
in  his  day. 

In  one  of  his  sermons,  delivered  on  a  fast  da}^  ob- 
served on  account  of  a  great  drought  and  famine,  he 
rebukes  the  church-members  for  absenting  them- 
selves. 

"  The  grown  men,"  he  says,  "  generally  follow  their 
business.  A  very  few  come  to  join  in  the  worship  ; 
and  those,  indolent,  sleepy,  and  gazing  about."  "And 
these  little  boys,  laying  their  books  by  at  school  and 
joining  with  us  in  the  responses,  do  it  as  a  relaxation 
and  play,"  &c.^ 

It  is  quite  evident  that  these  children  were  bap- 
tized, because  in  the  ancient  church  service  only  the 
baptized  could  remain  through  the  prayers  that  called 
for  responses.  A  few  woi'ds  will  make  this  plain. 
In  the  church  services  of  that  day,  the  sermon  came 
before  the  prayers ;  and  to  hear  it  any  and  all  classes 

9  Ot  6e  -naldec  ol  ofiLKpora-OL  ovtol,  ol  rui'  deXrovg  h  toIc  du^aaKaTuoLQ 
ano&efiEVOi  sal  av/ulSoiJvTec  Vf^lv,  uc;  uveaLv  nd70\jov  koi  lEp-ipiv  to  7zpuy/Aa 
fiETipxovraL,  k.tX  —  Drowjld  and  Famine:  a  Fast  Daj-Sermon. 


BASIL.  199 

could  be  present,  — heathen,  Jews,  catechumens,  or 
candidates  for  membership.  After  the  sermon  fol- 
lowed the  prayers;  and  these  were  of  two  kinds. 
First,  prayer  for  the  catechumens,  repeated  by  the  dea- 
con. At  each  petition  in  this  prayer,  the  congrega- 
tion responded,  "  Lord  have  mercy  on  them."  As 
all  Jews  and  unbelievers  and  unbaptized  ones,  ex- 
cept the  catechumens,  were  requested  to  leave  the 
church  before  this  prayer  was  offered  ;  so,  after  it  was 
offered,  the  catechumens  themselves  were  requested 
to  leave.  Then  the  second  kind  of  prayers  followed, 
the  baptized  alone  being  left ;  and  through  these 
varied  prayers,  responses  were  made  by  the  whole 
congregation  remaining.^^^ 

When,  therefore,  Basil  speaks  of  little  children 
uniting  in  the  responses,  he  virtually  says  they  were 
baptized  ;  since  none  but  the  baptized  could  be  pres- 
ent during  that  part  of  the  service.     . 

One  other  item  should  be  taken  from  Basil,  as 
menlioned  by  Theodoret  and  other  historians  of  that 
time.  The  only  child  of  Valens,  the  emperor,  being 
dangerously  ill,  Basil  was  called  to  the  palace.  After 
looking  on  the  dying  little  one,  he  assured  the  father 
that  the  child  would  be  restored  if  baptized.  The 
child  was  baptized,  but  died.  A  query  has  been 
raised  whether  the  child  was  not  old  enough  to  be 
baptized  on  his  own  account.  But  Theodoret  calls 
the  child  madinv,  the  word  used  by  St.  Mark,  when  he 
says,  "  They  brought  young  children  "  to  Jesus,  and 
so  small  that  "  he  took  them  up  in  his  amis  ;  "   and 

!•>  Bingham's  Antiq.  Club   Cli.  book  i.  cLap.  3  ;  book  xiv.  cbap.  5 


200     THE  CHURCH  AND  HER  CHH^DREN/ 

by  St.  Matthew,  when  he  says,  "  They  found  the 
young  child,"  "  wrapped  in  swaddling  clothes." 
Little  doubt  should  be  allowed  that  this  was  a  case 
of  infant  baptism. 

In  one  of  his  sermons  Basil  urges  baptism  on  some 
of  his  hearers,  who  had  evidently  been  brought  up 
in  Christian  families,  and  therefore  must  have  failed 
of  infant  consecration.  From  this  some  insist  that 
the  rite  could  not  then  have  been  in  use.  As  well 
argue  that  it  is  not  in  use  now,  because  some  are 
urged  to  regard  it.  No  doubt  Christian  parents 
neglected  some  of  their  duties  then  as  well  as  in  our 
times.  Moreover,  it  is  no  improbable  thing  that 
some  of  these  hearers,  now  chided  for  neglecting 
baptism,  were  too  old  for  infant  consecration  when 
their  parents  were  converted  to  Christianity,  and, 
since  their  own  conversion,  had  been  very  tardy  in 
making  a  profession  of  love  to  Christ. 

Gregory  Nazianzen  is  an  important  link  in^  our 
chain  of  evidence.  Born  A.D.  325,  devoted  to  the 
Lord  by  his  mother,  Nonna,  as  early  as  Samuel,  and 
his  father,  the  bishop  of  Nazianzen  for  forty-five 
years,  a  student  in  the  two  Csesareas  of  Cappadocia 
and  Palestine,  as  also  in  Alexandria  and  Athens,  his 
opportunities  were  good  for  knowing  early  the  doc- 
trines and  customs  of  the  Church.  He  was  ordained 
a  presbyter  A.D.  361 ;  afterward  assistant  bishop  of 
his  aged  father ;  in  A.D.  379  he  was  pressed  into 
taking  the  chair  of  patriarch  at  Constantinople,  but 
soon  withdrew  into  a  more  congenial  and  quiet  life, 
and  died  A.D.  390.  He  was  one  of  the  first  of 
orators   in   the   Greek  Church ;    from    his   doctrinal 


GREGORY  NAZIANZEN.  201 

stiulies  and  labors  he  gained  the  title  of  The  Theolo- 
gian ;  and  as  a  polemic,  a  writer,  and  a  man  of  a 
practical  religious  spirit  and  activit}^  he  led  the  men 
of  his  era  in  shaping  the  course  of  events  for  the 
Church. 

Among  the  extant  works  of  Gregory  is  a  sermon 
on  Baptism,  that  settles,  beyond  any  qnestion,  the 
practice  of  the  rite  on  infants  in  his  times.  It  may 
be  well  to  preface  the  quotations  that  are  about  to 
be  made  from  this  writer  with  the  remark,  that  he 
calls  baptism  by  various  terms,  as,  "  the  anointing," 
"  the  washing,"  ''  the  gift,"  "  the  laver  of  regenera- 
tion," "  the  seal,"  "  the  divine  formation,"  '^  the 
grace,"  "  our  improved  formation,"  *'  the  dedication," 
"  the  sanctification,"  "  the  enlightening." 

Neander  says  that  some  of  these  synomyms  came 
into  use  because  the  teachers  of  those  days  con- 
founded regeneration  with  baptism,  and  connected 
the  gifts  and  graces  of  the  Holy  Spirit  with  the  per- 
formance of  this  external  act.  Indeed,  the  fathers 
then  commonly  gave  the  name  of  regeneration  to  bap- 
tism alone.  So  in  the  opening  of  this  sermon,  Greg- 
ory says  that  baptism  brings  one  into  a  new  life, 
and  that  the  baptized  should  guard  most  sacredly 
against  sins  afterwards,  "because  there  is  no 
second  regeneration."  ^^  In  another  part  of  the 
same,  he  meets  the  frivolous  excuses  of  many  for 
delaying  baptism,  on  the  ground  that  sins  com- 
mitted afterwards  could  not  be  easily  cleansed  away. 
He  warns  them  of  the  craft  of  the  great  adversary, 

^  'OvK  'uvarjc  dtvrepag  avayevv/jacoc. 


202     THE  CHURCH  AND  HER  CHILDREN. 

who,  if  he  cannot  make  them  despise  baptism,  will 
make  them  so  to  prize  it,  and  be  over-cautious  in 
its  use,  as  to  lose  it  altogether.  Then  he  says  that 
every  age  needs  it, —  youth  and  gray  hairs  and  infants. 
"  Have  you  an  infant  ?  Let  not  evil  take  advantage 
of  the  age  :  let  it  be  sanctified  from  infancy ;  let  it  be 
consecrated  by  the  Spirit  from  birth.  You,  as  a 
faint-hearted  and  unbelieving  mother,  are  afraid  to 
bestow  the  seal  on  account  of  its  weakness.  But 
Hannah,  even  before  Samuel  was  born,  promised  him 
to  God  ;  and,  as  soon  as  born,  consecrated  him,  and 
clothed  him  in  a  holy  garment,  not  fearing  human 
weakness,  but  trusting  in  God."  ^ 

It  is  rare  that  we  find  an  enforcement  of  the  duty 
of  infant  baptism  in  any  modern  writer  more  plain 
and  pointed  than  this.  It  is  a  clear,  direct,  earnest 
inculcation  of  the  duty,  through  the  appointed 
manner  of  God,  to  dedicate  the  child  to  the  ]\Iost 
High.  No  one  can  misapprehend  the  allusion  that 
he  makes  soon  after.  When  he  has  reminded  the 
mother  of  the  use  of  amulets  and  charms,  so  common 
in  that  day  for  protection,  he  says,  "  Give  to  it  the 
Trinity,  that  great  and  noble  guard."  ^^ 

Let  the  name  of  the  Triune  God,  to  whom  he  is 
consecrated,    be   called   on   him   in   the   formula  of 


12  NfiTTUOv  koTL  ool ;  M7  "kaSeTu  natpov  rj  KOKia,  sk  (3pefovg  uyiaa&f/ro),  e^ 
ovvxi'iv  KodtspuT^^TO)  tC)  Uvevaari.  "Ei)  SiSoiKO^  rr/v  o(l>payi6a  diu  to 
(pvaeag  a&eve^,  ug  fiiKpoxbvxog  i]  firjTiTip  oTj-yoTnaroQ. 

'OvK  "Kwa  61  Kal  Tiplv  f]  yvvTi^rjvaL  tov  2a//ou^A  KvdvTTeoxsro  T(j  Qeu 
Koi  yevvTjdivTa  lepbv  ev&vg  iroid,  koI  tq  upaTiny  aro/S}  ovvari^eipev,  vv  to 
uv-bpCi-mvov  fOiSTjdnaa,  t(j  de  QeC)  TnoTtvaaaa. —  Greg.  Naz.  Or.  xl. 

13  Aof  avTu  TTiv  Tpiada,  ro  fieya  Koi  Ka?idv  ^vTuiKTriptov. 


GREGORY  NAZIANZEN.  203 

baptism.  This  will  prove  the  best  amulet  and 
charm  against  evil. 

We  pass  to  another  important  quotation.  After 
urging  this  ordinance  on  those  who  understand  its 
import,  he  supposes  an  objection,  worded  thus :  — 

"  But  what  say  you  of  infants,  not  yet  old  enough 
to  realize  the  loss  or  the  grace  ?  Shall  we  baptize 
them  ?  Most  certainly,  if  any  danger  impend. 
Better  to  be  consecrated  without  sense  of  it,  than  to 
die  unsealed  and  unadmitted.  And  a  reason  to  us 
for  this  is  circumcision  on  the  eighth  day,  —  a  certain 
typical  seal,  and  applied  to  those  not  taking  the 
sense  of  it,  as  also  the  anointing  of  the  doorways, 
saving  the  first  born  by  senseless  things."  Having 
given  his  opinion  that  some  may  be  kept  back  to 
the  third  year,  when  they  will  be  able  to  utter  the 
baptismal  responses,  he  continues :  — 

"  But  it  is  by  all  means  fitting  that  they  should  be 
made  safe  by  the  laver,  on  account  of  the  sudden 
attacks  of  danger  and  powerful  assaults  coming  on 
us."  1^ 

This  passage  from  Gregory's  sermon  is  declarative 
of  both  a  fact  and  a  tendency  in  his  times.  The 
fact  is  the  practice  of  this  ordinance  in  his  day.  '  Or 
to  state  the  same  in  the  language  of  Neander, 
''  Infant  baptism  was  now  generally  recognized  as  an 
apostolical  institution,"  and  "acknowledged  to  be 
necessary." 

The  tendency  was  to  neglect   it,  and  because  of 

!•*  TeTSLx'iadaL  de  t€)  TiovrpC)  navTi  Tuoyu  TiVOiarfMoTepov  (ku  raf  k^al(^VTi^ 
ovfim-TOvaag  i/fuv  TTpoajioKag  tCjv  klv()vvuv,  Kal  ftuijQdag  Lnxvportpag. — 
Or.  xl. 


204  THE  CHURCH  AND  HER   CHH^DREN. 

false  views  of  the  design  and  powers  of  baptism. 
Neander,  while  treating  of  its  neglect  by  adult 
converts,  thus  states  those  false  views,  and  the  con- 
sequent delay  of  the  rite  :  — 

'^  They  were  disposed  to  enter  into  a  sort  of  com- 
pact, or  bargain,  with  God  and  Christ,  to  be  permit- 
ted to  enjoy  as  long  as  possible  their  sinfid  pleas- 
ures, and  yet  in  the  end,  by  tlie  ordinance  of 
baptism,  which  like  a  charm  was  to  wipe  away  their 
sins,  to  be  pm^fied  from  all  their  stains,  and  attain  to 
blessedness  in  a  moment.  Hence  many  put  off  bap- 
tism until  they  were  reminded  by  mortal  sickness, 
or  some  other  sudden  danger,  of  approaching  death. 
Hence  it  was,  that  in  times  of  public  calamity,  in 
earthquakes,  in  the  dangers  of  war,  multitudes 
hurried  to  baptism,  and  the  number  of  the  existing 
clergy  scarcely  sufficed  for  the  wants  of  all."  "  The 
cause  of  delaying  baptism,  with  numbers,  was  their 
w^ant  of  any  true  interest  in  religion,  their  being 
bred  and  living  along  in  a  medley  of  Pagan  and 
Christian  superstitions ;  nor  can  it  be  denied,  that 
the  neglect  of  infant  baptism  contributed  to  prolong 
this  sad  state  of  things."  "  Many  pious  but  mistak- 
en parents  dreaded  intrusting  the  baptismal  grace  to 
the  weak,  unstable  age  of  their  children ;  which 
grace,  once  lost  by  sin,  could  never  be  regained. 
They  wished  rather  to  reserve  it  against  the  more 
decided  and  mature  age  of  manhood,  as  a  refuge  from 
the  temptation  and  storms  of  an  uncertain  life."  ^^ 

And   Neander,   in    supporting    these    statements, 

15  Church  History,  ii.  319  et  aeq. 


GREQOKY  NAZIANZEN.  205 

quotes  tliis  same  sermon  of  Gregory  from  wliicli  tlie 
above  extracts  are  taken. 

Now,  it  is  plain  why  Gregory  gives  tlie  suggestion 
that  infants,  in  certain  cases,  be  kept  back  to  the 
third  year,  while  he  urges  that  they  immediately 
"  should  be  made  safe  by  the  laver,"  in  any  case  of 
imminent  death.  The  apostolical  and  traditional 
theor}^  of  the  Church  moved  him  to  preach  and  urge 
the  early  api)lication  of  this  seal ;  but  public  opinion, 
vitiated  by  a  false  view  of  the  ordinance,  was  setting 
the  other  way,  and  reserving  the  rite,  as  having  a 
cleansing  power,  to  be  applied,  if  they  could  so  time 
it,  in  the  last  hours  of  life.  Gregory  attempted  to 
compromise  somewhat  the  true  views  in  a  medium 
time,  and  suggested  the  third  year. 

This  little  summary  of  the  history  of  those  two 
conflicting  theories  and  wishes  shows  us  how  deeply 
imbedded  in  the  foundations  of  the  Church  this 
ordinance  for  infants  was  at  that  ver}^  early  day. 

We  have  here,  too,"  another  of  those  historical 
crises  and  partisan  exigencies,  growing  out  of  or 
centering  in  this  rite,  where  one  party  must  have 
been  strongly  tempted  and  pressed  to  deny  its  apos- 
tolical authority.  If  it  had  power  to  wash  the  soul 
clean  for  heaven,  and  if  there  was  ''no  second 
regeneration"  by  the  laver,  and  if  sins  committed 
after  baptism  were  exceedingly  diflficult  and  almost 
impossible  of  removal,  there  was  strong  reason  why 
not  only  infant  baptism  should  be  discarded,  but 
adult  baptism  be  deferred  to  the  last  moments  of 
life.  It  was  almost  a  question  of  salvation,  under 
the  theories  of  that  day,  to  set  infant  baptism  aside. 

18 


206  THE  CHUBCH  AND  HER   CHILDREN. 

Yet  under  all  tins  partisan  pressure,  and  amid  all 
these  tender  spiritual  anxieties  of  parents  for  the 
salvation  of  their  children,  no  doubt  is  raised  on  the 
apostolical  origin  of  the  rite.  They  made  no  opposi- 
tion to  it,  or  urged  delay  of  it,  on  the  ground  that  it 
is  a  human  invention  and  innovation  in  the  Church, 
and  may  be  ruled  out  by  human  authority. 

In  the  writings  of  Optatus,  Bishop  of  Mileve,  we 
find  a  single  passage  only  on  our  topic.  Optatus 
was  in  office  here  about  A.D.  368.  He  could  not, 
of  course,  avoid  controversy  with  the  Donatists,  and 
so  wrote  several  books  on  that  schism.  In  the  dis- 
pute whether  baptism  is  valid  when  administered 
by  an  heretical  or  unworthy  officer,  he  compares  the 
putting  on  of  Christ  to  the  putting  on  of  a  garment, 
and  then  says,  — 

"  But  lest  any  one  should  say  that  the  Son  of  God 
is  irreverently  called  by  me  a  garment,  let  him  read 
the  apostle  saying,  '  As  many  of  you  as  have  been 
baptized  into  Christ,  have  put  on  Christ.'  O  gar- 
ment always  the  same  and  yet  so  variable,  that 
clothes  properly  all  ages  and  forms  I  It  does  not 
hang  loosely  about  infants,  nor  is  it  too  small  for 
men,  nor  needs  it  any  change  for  women."  ^^ 

The  passage  does  not  need  an  explanation.  No  com- 
ment can  make  it  plainer.  He  is  speaking  of  bap- 
tism, and  declares  its  fitness  and  adaptation  to  any 

16  "  Secl  ne  qiiis  dicat,  teniere  a  me  Filiuin  Dei  vestem  esse 
dictuiu,  legat  apostolum  dicentem:  Quotqot  in  nomine  Cliristi 
baptizati  estis,  Christum  induistis.  O  tunica  semper  una,  et  innu- 
merabilis,  qure  decenter  vestiat  et  omnes  aitates  et  formas!  Ken  in 
infantibus  nigatur,  nee  in  juvenibus  tenditur,  nee  in  fceminis 
mutatur."  —  Lib.  Quinto  de  Schis.  Donatis. 


OPTATUS.  207 

age  and  cillier  sex.  Among  the  classes  of  persons 
to  whom  it  is  adapted  he  mentions  infants.  Why 
applicable  and  fitted  to  them,  except  as  they  were 
fit  subjects  for  it?  .If  infants  were  not  then  usually 
receiving  it  in  the  ministrations  of  the  Church,  the 
references  to  them  had  no  pertinence,  and  the  state- 
ment convej^s  a  wrong  impression. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

AN  OBJECTION  CONSIDEKED. 

IN  this  connection  it  will  be  well  to  notice  the 
assertion  of  some,  that  many  of  the  early  Church 
fathers  were  not  baptized  in  their  infancy,  and 
therefore  the  rite  could  not  have  been  regarded  as 
of  divine  authorit}^  They  give  as  instances  these 
four  in  the  Greek  Church :  Basil,  Gregory  Nazian- 
zen,  Nectarius,  and  Chrysostom  ;  and  in  the  Latin 
Church,  Ambrose,  Jerome,  and  Augustine.  If  these 
men  Avere  not  baptized  in  infancy,  it  may  have  been 
owing  to  the  fact  that  when  they  were  infants  their 
fathers  were  pagans,  which  we  must  inquire  into  ;  or 
it  may  have  resulted  from  the  tendency,  that  we 
have  been  considering,  to  defer  the  rite  as  long  as 
could  be  safely  done,  and  yet  receive  it  before  death. 
Moreover,  it  is  to  be  considered  that  parents  then,  as 
now,  might  neglect  a  rite  held  by  universal  theory 
and  in  the  general  practice  of  the  Church,  and  the  in- 
fants neglected  become  eminent  men  afterward. 
Marked  failures  prove  only  and  at  best  but  a  general 
observance.  But. let  us  inquire  into  the  alleged 
facts. 

The  time  of  the  baptism  of  Basil  is  nowhere  men- 
tioned, and  so  may  have  been  in  infancy ;  and  some 

208 


AN   OBJECTION  CONSIDERED.  209 

expressions  of  rhetorical  fulness  in  Gregory's  funeral 
oration  on  him  take  the  meaning  of  infant  baptism 
better  than  any  other.  For  illustration,  Gregory 
speaks  of  the  reconstruction  of  his  formation  in  the 
beginning  of  his  life,  and  of  his  being  consecrated 
from  the  womb  and  in  infancy.^ 

It  seems  the  more  probable  that  Gregory  here  re- 
fers to  his  baptism  ;  as  he,  in  mentioning  leading 
events  in  the  life  of  Basil  from  his  birth  onward, 
makes  there  allusions  to  him  in  a  time  when  his  bap- 
tism would  properly  take  place,  and  omits  any  allu- 
sion to  it  as  taking  place  at  any  other  time. 

When  much  opposition,  and  for  various  reasons, 
was  made  against  the  continuance  of  Gregory  Nazi- 
anzen  in  the  patriarchate  of  Constantinople,  lie 
retired,  and  with  a  remark  that  would  give  great 
prosperity  to  the  Church  of  God,  if  the  spirit  of  it 
could  become  general :  "  If  I  am  the  cause  of  these 
unfortunate  troubles,  let  me  hasten  away  ;  but  let 
the  Church  of  Christ  have  peace."  They  appointed, 
as  his  successor,  Nectarius,  an  unbaptized  layman,  of 
senatorial  rank,  no  scholar,  and  less  a  divine,  but  of 
fine  appearance  and  cultured  manners.  So  they 
spoiled  a  good  alderman  and  made  a  poor  bishop, 
not  an  uncommon  result  when  a  factious  church  turns 
off  an  able  and  useful  pastor. 

As  this  Nectarius  had  not  been  baptized  when 
elected,  the  opponents  of  infant  baptism  argue  from 
the  fact  for  their  views.  They  disregard  the  Chris- 
tian  condition   of  things    then   existing,   that    very 


1  'Ek  Bp£<povg  Kadiepufxivog  and  firjTpac. 
18* 


210  THE   CHURCH  AND  HER  CHILDREN. 

many,  if  not  half,  the  nominal  Christians  of  the  day 
were  converted  after  their  childhood,  and,  when  con- 
verted, felt  the  force  of  the  prevalent  notion,  that 
baptism  had  best  be  deferred  till  the  approach  of 
death.  They  overlook  the  fact,  too,  that  nothing  is 
known  of  the  parents  of  Nectarius.  They  are  as 
obscure  in  history  as  the  parents  of  Cain's  wife.  If 
heathen,  that  is  the  best  of  reasons  why  their  son 
failed  of  this  ordinance.  The  argument  that  our 
opponents  make  here  is  an  argument  from  the  un- 
known, and  also,  as  in  the  case  of  Basil,  against  the 
probable. 

Chrysostom  also  is  claimed  for  the  same  end.  He 
intimates  that  his  father  died  when  he  himself  was 
very  young,  and  neither  the  son  nor  any  one  implies 
that  the  father  was  a  Christian.  At  the  age  of 
eighteen  he  was  studying  under  the  heathen  teacher 
Libanius,  whom  Gibbon  calls  "  the  last  glory  of  ex- 
piring paganism."  Then,  after  being  a  pupil  of 
Meletius,  the  bishop  of  Antioch,  for  a  season,  he  was 
baptized  by  him  when  about  twenty-one.  Two 
historians,  bishops  of  Alexandria,  say  that  his  mother, 
Anthusa,  was  baptized  afterward.  When  he  was 
transferred  from  the  heathen  to  the  Christian  school, 
Libanius,  according  to  Sozomen,  said  that  the  Chris- 
tians stole  him  away,  l^ Eavhjaav.']  This  would  imply 
that  he  was  a  pagan  pupil,  as  following  his  father, 
and  became  a  Christian  convert.  Neander  and  Mos- 
heim  imply  that  his  mother  was  a  Christian  from  his 
infancy ;  but  evidently  his  father  was  not,  and  so  he 
failed  of  infant  baptism,  as  the  will  of  the  father 
would  prevail  in  such  a  case,  and  in  those  times. 


AN  OBJECTION  CONSIDERED.  211 

The  varied  and  earnest  manner  in  which  Chr3^sos- 
tom  urged  the  duty  and  privileges  and  uses  of  infant 
baptism,  as  we  have  seen,  shows  that  he  would  be 
very  unwilling  that  his  unfortunate  loss  of  it  sliould 
be  turned  agaiust  the  ordinance,  or  be  forced  into  an 
evidence  that  it  was  not  common  in  the  days  of  his 
iji  fancy. 

Gregory  Nazianzen  was  not  baptized  in  infancy, 
j-et  lie  had  Christian  parents.  Two  difficulties,  how- 
ever, lie  in  the  way  of  the  use  of  this  great  man's 
name  against  the  ordinance  in  question.  The  funeral 
oration  of  Gregory  on  his  father  ^  makes  it  evident 
that  his  father  was  not  a  Christian  till  some  time  after 
his  marriage.  How  soon  after  the  marriage  Gregory 
was  born  is  unknown  with  an  exactness  sufficient  for 
an  argument  in  this  case.  Mosheim  says  that  Greg- 
ory was  born  about  A.D.  325  ;  Gaericke  says  about 
330.  After  some  intricate  study  to  fix  the  time  more 
definitely,  one  is  quite  inclined  to  sympathize  with 
Dr.  Wall,  who,  having  gone  through  a  similar  labor, 
says  that  he  is  "  quite  out  of  the  humor  of  entering 
on  a  new  search  after  anybody's  age."  If  born  be- 
fore his  father's  conversion,  his  lack  of  baptism  in 
infancy  makes  nothing  against  the  Christian  usage 
of  the  day.  The  argument  of  our  opponents,  there- 
fore, gains  in  this  case  only  the  advantage  of  an 
uncertaint}^  and  an  interrogation  point. 

Moreover,  the  father  of  Gregory  was  a  Plypsista- 
rian,  a  worshipper  of  the  Highest  [i'ip/(7To^«],  a  sect  wlio 
recognized  one  absolute  essence,  having  with  this  tenet 

2  Orat.  xix. 


212  THE   CHURCH  AND  HER   CHH^DREN. 

a  mixture  of  Jewish  and  pagan  notions.  Neander 
informs  us  that  his  wife,  "  the  pious  Nonna,  by  her 
prayers,  and  the  silent  influence  of  the  religion  which 
shone  through  her  life,  gradually  won  over  to  the 
gospel  her  husband,  who  had  belonged  to  an  unchris- 
tian sect.3  This  Avinning  of  the  father  of  Gregory 
"  gradually  "  doubles  the  doubt  whether  his  son  was 
not  born  while  the  father  was  3^et  an  unchristian 
man,  and  so,  as  a  matter  of  course,  lost  infant  bap- 
tism. 

Augustine  was  baptized  in  his  thirty-third  year,  as 
he  himself  states  in  his  Confessions.  Some  have  cast 
this  fact  into  an  interrogative  and  argumentative 
form  against  the  use  of  infant  baptism  in  the  early 
church,  thus  :  If  the  ordinance  was  then  common, 
why  was  not  Augustine  baptized  in  his  infancy  ? 
Those  same  Confessions  would  answer  this  question, 
if  faithfully  consulted.  The  father  of  Augustine  was 
not  a  Christian  till  late  in  life.  In  his  Confessions, 
Augustine,  in  speaking  to  God  of  his  mother,  uses 
these  words  :  "  Finally,  her  own  husband,  towards 
the  very  end  of  his  earthly  life,  did  she  gain  unto 
Thee."  ^ 

Speaking  of  living  at  home  with  his  parents,  in  his 
sixteenth  year,  and  showing  most  unworthy  youthful- 
passions  and  habits,  that  affected  his  mother  "  with  a 
hol}^  fear  and  trembling,"  he  says,  "  My  father  was  as 
yet  but  a  catechumen,  and  that  but  recently."  ^ 


8  His.  ii.  220  and  707  ;  note  1. 

4  Confessions  of  St.  Augustine,  B.  ix.  cli.  9.   "Wiley  &  Putnam  :  New 
York.     1844. 

6 Do.  B.  ii.,cli.  3. 


AN   OBJECTION  CONSIDERED.  213 

Earlier  tlian  this,  and  when,  probably,  he  was 
somewhat  under  ten  years  of  age,  he  had  a  dangerous 
attaek  of  iUness,  and  eagerly  sought  baptism  as  a 
cleansing  for  death  and  heaven,  which  his  mother  pre- 
pared to  grant,  when  he  recovered.  He  then  says, 
*'  And  so,  as  if  I  must  needs  be  again  polluted  should 
I  live,  my  cleansing  was  deferred,  because  the  defile- 
ments of  sin  would,  after  that  washing,  bring  greater 
and  more  perilous  guilt."  Then,  speaking  of  his 
father  in  immediate  connection  with  this  delay  of 
baptism,  he  adds :  "  He  did  not  yet  believe."  ^ 

The  paganism  of  the  father,  therefore,  stood  in  the 
way  of  the  infant  baptism  of  Augustine.  If  it  be  said 
that  his  mother,  Monica,  was  a  Christian  at  his  birth, 
and  might  have  had  him  baptized  if  it  had  been  usage, 
this  must  be  replied :  His  mother,  as  we  have  seen 
by  the  quotation,  was  hindered  by  the  erroneous 
notion  of  the  age, — that  the  rite  should  be  deferred 
to  a  time  as  near  to  death  as  they  could  trust  their 
judgment  in  determining.  Moreover,  according  to 
the  sentiment  and  practice  of  those  times,  the  will  of 
the  father  ruled  in  important  acts  for  the  child. 

This  accorded  Avith  the  judgment  of  Monica,  as  her 
son  quotes  her  advice  to  those  wives  who  opposed  the 
will  of  their  husbands:  "From  the  time  they  heard 
the  marriage  writings  read  to  them  they  should 
account  them  as  indentures,  whereby  they  were  made 
servants  ;  and  so  remembering  their  condition,  not  set 
themselves  up  against  their  lords."  ^ 

And  the  more  likely  would  Monica  be  to  follow  her 

6  "llle  nonduTii  crediderat."    Do.  B.  i.,  cli.  11. 

7  Do.  B.  ix.,  ch.  9. 


214  THE  CHURCH  AND   HER  CHILDREN. 

own  advice,  since  Patricius,  her  husband,  was  a  man 
of  quick  temper,  harsh  in  his  manner,  imperious  in 
his  rule,  and  dissolute  in  his  morals  as  a  husband. 

It  is  affirmed  that  Jerome  was  not  baptized  till  he 
was  about  thirty  years  of  age,  and  on  an  occasion  at 
Rome,  although  born  of  Christian  parents.  There 
may  be  reasons  for  such  an  affirmation  ;  but,  so  far  as 
appears,  the  statement  is  a  traditional  and  unexamined 
one,  based  on  the  interpretation  that  Erasmus  gives 
to  two  expressions  in  two  of  Jerome's  letters. 

In  writing  to  Damasus,  the  bishop  of  Rome,  he 
asks,  as  he  says,  information  from  that  city  "  where  I 
took  on  me  the  garments  of  Christ."  ^ 

]^ot  receiving  immediate  reply,  he  wrote  again  for 
the  information,  with  a  varied  allusion  again  to  what 
is  assumed  to  have  been  his  baptism  :  ''  As  I  formerly 
wrote  you,  I  having  taken  on  me  the  vestment  of  Christ 
in  the  Roman  city,"  &c.  ^ 

This  expression,  "  receiving  the  vestment  of  Christ," 
may  be  a  synonj^m  for  ba2:)tism,  and  it  may  be  that  he 
here  refers  to  his  entrance  on  the  monkish  life  and 
habits  while  a  student  at  Rome.  The  garments  of 
the  nuns  were  called  Chrhti  timicam^  Christi  flam- 
meum,  —  the  coat,  the  veil  of  Christ ;  and  those  ex- 
pressions of  Jerome  Avould  well  designate  the  vest- 
ments of  the  monks.  But  be  the  interpretation  what 
it  may,  here  is  all  the  evidence,  so  far  as  common 
sources  furnish  it,  that  Jerome  was  not  baptized  in 
infancy. 

The  name  of  Ambrose  has  sometimes  been  used  to 

8  "  Untie  olim  Christi  vestamenta  suscepi."    Ep.  Ivii. 

9  "  Chi'isti  A'estem  in  Romana  urbe  suscipiens,"  &c. 


AN  OBJjffiCTION  CONSIDERED.  215 

show  that  infant  baptism  was  not  common  in  the  daj^s 
of  his  infancy,  since  he  was  not  baptized  till  after  his 
nomination  as  bishop  of  Milan,  and  only  eight  days 
before  his  ordination  to  that  office.  All  which  is  true 
as  to  the  bishop ;  but  it  makes  no  point  for  those  ad- 
ducing his  case,  since  there  is  no  evidence  that  his 
parents  were  Christian  when  he  was  born.  His 
father  Avas  a  Roman  nobleman,  and  governor  of 
Gaul ;  and  there  is  not  only  nothing  to  show  that  he 
was  not  a  pagan,  but  many  things  making  it  probable 
that  he  was.  After  Ambrose  had  come  into  middle 
life,  his  mother  is  spoken  of  as  a  Christian  widow  at 
Rome,  and  so  probably  came  late  herself,  as  well  as 
her  distinguished  son,  into  the  faith  of  Christ. 

Not  one  of  these  seven  cases,  therefore,  helps  to 
disprove  the  use  of  infant  baptism  in  the  days  of  those 
fathers. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

THE  QUESTION  BEFORE    COUNCILS    AGAIN". 

"TTXE  move  now  sixty  3'ears  and  more  backward 
^  '  toward  the  times  of  the  apostles  :  from  the 
bishop  of  Milan,  A.D.  368,  to  the  council  of 
Neocsesarea,  A.D.  314,  and  to  the  council  of  Elvira, 
A.D.  305.  If  this  rite  sprung  up  after  the  days  of 
the  apostles,  we  ought  very  soon,  in  our  backv/ard 
movement  toward  them,  to  find  it  obscured  and  re- 
sisted and  just  struggling  into  place  and  use,  as  all 
innovations  in  popular  usage  are  compelled  to  gain 
position  and  permanence.  But  the  recognition  of  the 
ordinance  in  the  quotation  about  to  be  made  from  the 
canons  of  the  council  of  Neoceesarea  is  as  clear  and 
sharply  defined  and  generally  conceded  as  any  thing 
in  Augustine  or  Jonathan  Edwards. 

These  early  councils,  not  unlike  the  ministerial 
associations  of  our  day,  often  entertained  professional 
discussions,  and  solved,  if  possible,  the  doubts  of  any 
one  on  practical  questions.  Among  the  various  items 
submitted  to  this  council  for  opinion  was  this: 
whether  a  woman  enceinte.,  and  wishing  baptism, 
should  be  baptized  in  her  present  condition,  or  delay 
the  dedication  till  after  the  birth  of  the  cliild.  This 
question  became  a  practical  one,  because  of  the  doubt 

216 


THE  QUESTION   BEFORE  COUNCILS  AGAIN.       217 

that  would  lie  after  the  birth  of  thechild,  whether  or 
not  it  was  baptized  in  the  baptism  of  its  mother.  An 
historical  fact  or  two  will  show  the  occasion  of  this 
question,  and  in  what  light  the  council  must  receive 
and  answer  it. 

We  have  seen  by  ample  testimony  that  Christian 
baptism  was  at  first  only  an  adoption  and  elevation  of 
Jewish  proselyte  baptism,  as  found  and  practised  in 
the  times  of  John  the  Baptist,  and  of  Christ  and  his 
apostles.  Then,  when  Gentile  parents,  father  or 
mother,  or  both,  became  proselytes  to  Judaism,  they 
became  Jews  through  the  rite  of  baptism.  And  when 
they  received  the  rite  they  were  required  to  bring 
their  children  also  to  receive  it,  —  their  daughters  of 
thirteen  years  and  a  day  and  under,  and  their  sons  of 
twelve  years  and  a  day  and  under.  Nor  could  any 
parent  be  received  unless  this  condition  concerning 
children  be  complied  with.  But  a  practical  question 
came  up  for  the  decision  of  the  Rabbles :  whether  a 
child  born  after  the  baptism  of  the  mother,  and  she 
being  enceinte  at  the  time  of  her  baptism,  must  be 
baptized  in  order  to  become  fully  and  properly  a  Jew. 
Their  ruling  runs  thus :  *'  If  a  woman  enceinte 
become  a  proselyte  and  be  baptized,  her  child  needs 
not  baptism  when  it  is  born."  ^ 

This  decision  was  based  on  the  specific  theory  of 
the  Jews,  that  when  a  Gentile  passed  over  as  one  of 
an  unclean  nation  to  become  a  Jew,  baptism  cleansed 
or  purified  both  him  and  his  posterity,  if  yet  unborn. 
Now,  as  infant  baptism  in  the  Christian  Church  had 


1  LiGHTFOOT,  vol.  ii.  118.    London,  Folio,  1G84. 
19 


218  THE  CHURCH  AND   HER   CHmDBEN. 

for  its  original  and  model  this  infant  proselyte  bap- 
tism of  the  Jews,  it  was  quite  natural  that  the  question 
that  the  Rabbles  answered  should  re-appear  before  a 
Christian  council,  and  in  a  time  so  near  to  the 
apostles  that  we  may  suppose  the  council  knew  very 
well  the  theory  and  practice  of  the  apostolic  Church. 
The  scruple  that  raised  it  in  the  Jewish  mind  would 
raise  it  also  in  the  Christian  mind.  We  must  con- 
sider, too,  that  at  the  time  of  this  council  the  Jewish 
Church  was  vigorous  and  proselyting  ;  and  Jewish 
refusal  to  baptize  an  infant  in  th-e  case  supposed  must 
have  been  known  to  the  council,  and  so  stimulate 
them  to  discussion  and  discrimination  on  the  question 
submitted.     They  gave  this  answer :  — 

"  As  to  a  woman  ericeinte,  it  is  proper  for  her  to  be 
enlightened  when  she  pleases,  for  in  this  the  mother 
communicates  nothing  to  the  offspring."  ^ 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  opinion  of  the  council 
is  directly  opposed  to  the  opinion  of  the  Rabbles.  The 
decisions  are  opposite  of  necessity,  from  the  opposite 
theories  of  the  two  parties.  With  the  Jew,  baptism 
was  a  ceremonial  cleansing  of  a  stock,  —  a  race,  — 
"thee  and  thy  seed."  If  so,  the  unborn  child  must 
share  in  its  effects  with  the  mother.  With  the  coun- 
cil the  purification  implied  in  baptism,  whether  typ- 
ical or  actual,  was  personal  only,  and  confined  in  its 
effects  to  the  single  subject  receiving  it.     Those  ef- 

2  Uepl  KVOcpopnvGTjg  oti  del  (pun^eaOat*  otcote  fSovXerai.  Ovdiv  yap  ev 
TovTu  Koivuvd  y  TiKTovca  TO)  TiKTO{j£V(f}.     CoDC  Keocjes.  Can.  \i. 

*  A  word  here  is  rendered  "  enli{;htencd,"  which  the  lexicons  would  have  warranted  one  in 
rendering  "  baptized,"  since  those  early  church  fathers  used  it  as  the  synonym  of  tljat  word. 
But  we  wisli  so  faithfully  to  use  these  old  witnesses  as  to  avoid  the  appearance  even  of  an 
argumentative  translation. 


THE   QUESTION   BEFORE  COUNCILS  AGAIN.       219 

fects  could  not  become  hereditary,  and  so  the  unborn 
cliild  could  not  receive  it  tln-ough  its  mother. 

The  action  of  the  council  of  Neoctcsarea  in  this  case 
throws  a  strong  light  on  our  path  of  investigation ; 
for  it  is  a  body  of  clergymen  who  speak,  and  not 
one  man ;  and  their  answer  is  to  a  question  imply- 
ing doubts,  and  so  is  given  after  deliberation.  There 
is,  moreover,  no  implication  in  w-hat  they  say,  that 
the  rite  as  for  infants  was  a  mere  human  notion,  and 
might  be  performed  or  neglected  on  any  child  at  the 
option  of  the  parent.  They  give  opinion  in  the  case 
as  if  the  ordinance  was  apostolic  and  in  common 
practice. 

We  gain  another  item  of  evidence  from  the  council 
of  Elvira  in  Spain,  A.D.  305,  in  the  form  of  infant 
church-membership.  The  council  is  laying  down 
rules  for  the  treatment  of  those  w^ho  have  apostatized 
and  then  wish  to  return  to  the  true  Church. 

"  If  any  one  shall  go  over  from  the  Church  catholic 
to  any  heresy,  and  then  would  return  again  to  the 
Church,  penitence  should  not  be  denied  to  him,  be- 
cause he  has  discovered  his  sin.  Let  him  exercise 
repentance  for  t^i  years,  and  after  ten  years  he  ought 
to  be  admitted  to  the  communion.  But,  if  inhmts 
have  been  carried  over,  they  ought  to  be  taken  back 
immediately,  because  they  have  not  sinned  by  their 
own  fault."  ^ 

3  "  Si  quis  (le  catholica  ecolesia  ad  liaTCsim  transitum  fecerit,  nir- 
siisqiie  ail  ecclesiaiu  recurrent,  placuit  liuic  pa>uitentiam  uou  esse 
(leiie.LTaiKlaiu,  eo  quud  co^noverit  pect-atuia  smxui;  qui  etiaui  deceiu 
anuis  agat  pn-niteutiani;  cui  post  decern  annus  pr.t>stari  ccjuiuiunio 
debet.  Si  vero  infantes  fuerint  transducti,  quod  nou  suo  vitio  pec- 
caverint,  iuciinctanter  recepi  debeut."  —  Cone.  Eliber.  can.  xxii 


220  THE  CHXTBCH  AND  HER  CHILDREN. 

This  canon  evidently  has  in  view  two  classes  of 
apostates,  —  those  who  went  over  to  heresy  as  adults, 
and  knowingly,  and  those  who  were  carried  over  by 
their  parents  in  their  tender  and  irresponsible  years. 
The  canon  contemplates  the  restoration  of  both  to 
the  communion  of  the  catholic  Church,  as  having  dis- 
covered their  error  and  wishing  to  be  restored.  One 
class  it  is  proposed  to  restore  after  ten  years'  peni- 
tence, and  the  other  class  immediately  on  application, 
incunctanter.  Plainly,  the  fii-st  class  are  church-mem- 
bers. The  language  of  the  canon  referring  to  them 
is  not  pertinent  to  a  catechumen.  No  catechumen 
could  be  said  to  go  out  from  the  Church,  and  return 
to  the  Church ;  nor  do  the  fathers  so  speak.  But  the 
canon  couples  the  two  classes  in  the  same  expressions 
as  to  going  out  of  the  Church,  and  being  restored  to 
the  Church  ;  thus  showing  that  both  had  membership. 
Therefore  the  infants  of  the  canon  had  been  baptized, 
as  baptism  was  indispensable  to  membership.  If  they 
had  not  been  baptized,  they  must  have  taken  the 
position  and  processes  of  catechumens.  This  would 
require  instruction  and  delay  ;  but  the  council  says, 
let  them  be  "  taken  back  immediately."  The  evi- 
dence of  infant  baptism  in  this  canon  appears  to  be 
unimpeachable. 


CHAPTER  XXVm. 

THE     SIXTY-SIX    BISHOPS,    AND    CYPEIAN's    LETTER 
TO   FIDUS. 

"TTT'E  come  now  fifty  years  nearer  to  the  apos- 
V  V  ties,  when  we  bring  Cyprian,  and  sixty -five 
other  bishops,  on  the  stand.  If  any  reader  of  this 
historical  argument  is  yet  sceptical,  his  special  atten- 
tion is  called  to  the  testimony  about  to  be  introduced, 
both  in  regard  to  its  positive  nature,  and  to  the  time 
when  it  was  furnished. 

It  was  A.D.  253,  that  a  large  meeting  of  African 
bishops  was  held  at  Carthage.  It  was  one  of  those 
informal  meetings  in  the  ancient  Church,  held  occa- 
sionally at  convenient  centres,  by  the  pastors  of  the 
territory.  They  met  for  mutual  improvement,  and 
for  the  consideration  of  any  question  presented  that 
might  concern  the  welfare  of  the  Church. 

At  this  meeting  sixty-six  were  present.  What 
other  topics  were  raised  for  consultation  we  are  not 
informed  ;  but,  Fidus,  a  country  pastor,  presented  l)y 
letter  two  questions.  One  was,  whether  an  infant 
might  receive  baptism  before  it  was  eight  da3^s  old. 
This  question  Fidus  accompanies  Avith  an  argument 
in  the  negative.  He  urges  that  earlier  than  the 
eighth  day  the  babe  would  seem  to  be  so  unfinished 

19*  221 


222  THE  CHURCH  AND  HER  CHH^DREN. 

and  unclean  that  men  would  revolt  from  giving  to  it 
the  usual  kiss  of  welcome  into  the  church.  He 
makes  much  also  of  the  fact  that  circumcision  was 
prescribed  for  the  eighth  day,  and  insists  that  the 
rule  of  initiation  in  that  form  should  hold  in  this. 
He  also  urges  other  things  against  the  baptism  of  an 
infant  before  the  eighth  day. 

The  question  and  argument  of  Fidus  appear  to 
have  been  very  freely  discussed  by  the  bishops,  and 
their  result  was  unanimous.  The  duty  of  condens- 
ing their  opinions,  and  making  replj^  to  Fidus,  was 
devolved  on  Cyprian .  This  letter  of  Cyprian  to  Fidus 
is  preserved.  In  the  edition  of  his  works  by  Parme- 
lius,  and  by  the  Benedictines,  it  is  the  tifty-ninth 
epistle ;  in  the  Oxford  edition  of  Fell,  it  is  the  sixty- 
fourth.  We  introduce  here  so  much  of  it  as  will  set 
forth  distinctly  the  historical  genealogy  of  infant 
baptism  in  its  pedigree  toward  the  apostles. 

"  But  as  to  the  case  of  infants,  who,  you  said, 
ought  not  to  be  baptized  within  the  second  or  third 
day  of  their  birth  ;  and  as  to  your  point,  that  the  law 
of  ancient  circumcision  should  be  regarded,  and  a 
child  not  be  baptized  and  sanctified  within  the  eighth 
da}^  of  its  birth,  —  it  seemed  quite  otherwise  to  all  of 
us  in  council.  No  one  agreed  to  the  thing  that  you 
thouo-ht  ouo'ht  to  be  done.  .  .  . 

"  And  therefore,  brother  dearl}'  beloved,  this  was 
our  conclusion  in  council,  that  no  one  ought  to  be 
kept  back  by  us  from  baptism  and  from  the  grace  of 
God,  who  is  merciful  and  kind  and  tender  toward  all. 
For  while  we  think  that  attention  and  regard  should 
be  had  for  the  wants  of  all,  we  think  that  we  ought 


THE  BISHOPS,   AND  CYPRIAN'S  LETTER.        223 

to  do  tliis  especially  for  infants  and  the  new-born, 
who  seem  to  chiim  our  aid  and  the  divine  compassion 
the  more,  in  that-  from  tlieir  hour  of  birth,  waiUng 
and  weeping,  they  do  nothing  except  to  implore 
aid."  1 

This  epistle  of  the  martyr  bishop  of  Carthage  is 
worthy  of  special  attention.  As  a  witness  concern- 
ing the  ordinance  of  infant  baptism,  it  has  a  leading 
and  commanding  place  among  the  ancients.  It  is  a 
genuine  epistle  of  Cyprian,  and  as  well  authenticated 
as  any  of  the  works  of  any  of  the  fathers.  Jerome 
and  Augustine  have  quoted  it  so  freely  that  almost 
every  passage  of  it  may  be  found  in  their  works. 
And  they  lived  so  near  to  the  time  of  its  author,  that 
we  cannot  suj)pose  it  possible  that  they  were  duped 
by  a  forgery.  Particular  notes  should  be  made  on 
the  letter  as  evidence  worthy  of  division,  and  a  stud- 
ied attention  in  our  discussion.     ^.^^ 

(1.)  The  question  submitted  by  Fidus.  It  is 
sometimes  the  case  that  a  question  well  put  gives 
more  information  than  the  answer.     It  is  in  a  meas- 


1  Quantma  vero  ail  nausam  infantiuin  pertinet,  qiios  dixisti  intra 
secinulniu  vel  tertium  (lieiii,  quo  nati  sunt,  constitutes  baptizari  non 
oportere,  et  considei-anduin  esse  legem  circuuicisionis  antiqujc,  ut 
intra  octavuni  diem  eum  qui  natus  est  baptizandum  et  sacrifican- 
diini  non  putares,  longe  aliud  in  concilio  nostro  omnibus  visum  est. 
In  hoc  enim  (piod  tu  putabas  esse  fa<3iendum,  nemo  cousensit. 

Et  iilcirco,  frater  carissime,  hnec  fuit  in  concilio  nostra  sententia, 
a  baprtsmo  atque  a  gratia  Dei,  qui  omnibus  misericors  et  beniguus 
et  pins  est,  nemineui  per  nos  debere  prohiberi. 

Quod  cum  circa  universos  observandum  sit,  atque  retinendura, 
magis  circa  infantes  ipsos  et  recens  natos  obsesvandum  putanius, 
qui  lioc  ipso  de  ope  nostra,  ac  de  divina,  misericordia  plus  merentur, 
quod  in  primo  statim  nativitatis  suaj  ortu  plorantes  ac  flentes  nihil 
aliud  f aciuiit  quam  deprecautur.  —  Ep.  Iviii.  —  Ox.  Ed.  bciv. 


224  THE  CHUECH  AND   HER  CHH^DEEN. 

ure  so  in  this  case.  The  inquiry  is  a  large  revelation 
on  the  subject  of  infant  baptism  at  that  time.  For  in 
it  Fidus  assumes  the  validity  and  universality  of  the 
ordinance.  It  is  no  part  of  his  inquiry  whether  the 
rite  shall  be  administered.  By  the  very  terms  in 
which  he  puts  his  question  he  concedes  this.  The 
scriptural  authority  for  the  ordinance,  or  its  propri- 
ety, does  not  lie  in  any  doubt  in  his  mind.  A  ques- 
tion so  sharp  and  so  precise  in  its  point  could  arise 
only  where  infant  baptism,  by  common  consent,  was 
assumed,  granted,  and  practised  as  a  Christian  ordi- 
nance. The  question  of  Fidus  is  simply  one  of  time : 
May  the  rite  be  administered  before  the  child  is  eight 
days  old  ?  Would  such  a  question  ever  arise  in  a 
Baptist  community  ?  And  the  discussion  and  answer 
of  the  question  concede  all  that  Fidus  concedes  in  it, 
as  to  the  prevalence  of  the  rite.  Were  the  ordinance 
at  that  time  an  innovation,  or  had  it  intruded  itself 
into  the  Church  within  the  memory  of  some  of  the 
aged  ministers  in  the  assembly,  such  a  question  could 
not  have  come  in  and  been  discussed,  under  so  full 
an  assumption  and  admission  of  its  apostolical  au- 
thority. Not  only  is  its  divine  institution  as  fully 
conceded  as  adult  baptism,  but  the  council  say, 
"  We  think  that  we  ought  to  do  this  especially  for 
infants  and  the  new-born."  They  thus  call  for  it  a 
more  prompt  and  prominent  attention  than  for  adult 
baptism. 

(2.)  The  connection  that  Fidus  makes  between 
baptism  and  circumcision.  He  argues  that  the  rule 
of  baptism  must  be  the  same  as  the  rule  of  circum- 
cision, as  to  time,  and  that,  therefore,  the  only  proper 


THE  BISHOPS,    AND   CYPRIAN's  LETTER.        225 

day  for  the  administration  is  tlie  eighth.  Is  it  an 
undesigned  and  untaught  conincidence  that  he  here 
presents  ?  Why  does  lie  connect  the  two  rites  at  all  ? 
Why  make  such  a  connection  of  them  in  the  eighth 
day  ?  He  evidently  regards  the  two  as  initiatory  to 
the  Church  under  its  ancient  and  modern  administra- 
tion, and  the  latter  as  taking  the  place  of  the  former. 
Hence  baptism  is  here  called  "  the  spiritual  circum- 
cision." All  this  is  significant  as  found  in  the  letter 
of  a  bishop  living  so  near  to  the  times  of  the  apos- 
tles. We  cannot  escape  the  conviction  that  this  con- 
necting of  the  two  rites,  and  this  law  of  time,  and 
the  use  of  the  word  circumcision  as  the  synonym  for 
baptism,  in  the  letters  before  us,  are  the  result  of 
tradition  and  instruction  from  the  apostles,  and  that 
the  latter  ordinance  comes  by  their  authority  in  the 
place  of  the  former.  If  such  were  the  teaching  and 
belief  of  that  early  day,  we  can  easily  explain  these 
expressions  and  allusions  and  reasonings.  Otherwise 
the  coincidences  are  very  strangely  accidental,  lying 
even  totally  outside  the  problem  of  the  calculation  of 
chances  that  they  would  ever  occur. 

(3.)  The  large  section  of  the  Church  represented 
in  this  council.  The  number  of  bishops  is  sixty -six. 
At  that  early  day,  A.D.  253,  this  number  must  have 
represented  a  large  portion  of  the  African  Churches ; 
for  in  the  best  days  of  Christianity  on  that  continent 
the  number  of  bishoprics  did  not  exceed  five  hun- 
dred. This  body,  then,  is  no  local  clique  of  the 
clergy,  drawn  together  on  some  principle  of  doctrinal 
or  politic  affinity.  Wide  geographical  boundaries 
mark  the  limits  from  which  they  come.     It  is  a  pro- 


226  THE  CHUECH  AND   HER  CHILDREN. 

miscuous  gathering,  not  knowing,  till  gathered,  to 
what  questions  they  were  to  make  answer.  A  draft 
by  lot  on  the  Church  at  large  would  not  probably 
have  brought  together  fairer  representatives  of  the 
Christian  faith  and  practice  concerning  infant  baptism 
than  were  found  in  that  Carthaginian  body. 

(4.)  Their  perfect  agreement  in  answer  to  the 
question  of  Fidus.  There  is  a  grateful  unanimity 
among  them,  for  one  who  loves  the  sacrament  in 
question,  as  one  of  the  foundation  stones  of  Zion. 
"  No  one  agreed  to  the  thing  that  you  thought  ought 
to  be  done,"  nemo  consensit.  The  waiting  for  bap- 
tism to  the  eighth  day  of  the  child  was  unanimously 
overruled.  This  unity  of  opinion  and  result  assures 
Tis  that  they  reasoned  from  a  unity  of  faith  and  of 
practice. 

Such  agreement  in  faith  and  practice  through  the 
Church,  and  out  of  which  this  unanimity  in  advice  to 
Fidus  sprang,  may  have  resulted  from  either  of  two 
causes.  There  may  have  been  a-  universal  prevalence 
of  the  teaching  of  Christ  and  his  apostles,  that  infant 
baptism  is  a  divine  institution  in  the  Church.  Or 
there  may  have  been  a  universal  prevalence  of  such 
a  rite,  and  a  universal  belief  in  it  as  of  divine  origin, 
while  it  was  only  a  forger}^  and  an  imposition  among 
the'  original  and  authoritative  rites  of  the  Church. 
In  determining  which  of  these  causes  did,  probably, 
lead  the  council  to  this  unity  of  advice  to  Fidus,  we 
come  to  the  final  reflection  proposed  on  the  letter  in 
question :  — 

(5.)  The  time  when  this  assembly  was  convened. 
Some  of  its  members  could,  very  like,  make  their 


THE   BISHOPS,    AND   CYPRIAN'S   LETTER.        227 

memories  cover  nearly  half  the  period  between  the 
time  of  their  session  and  the  time  of  living  apostles. 
They  knew  the  generation  who  knew  the  apostles. 
In  so  narrow  space  of  time  could  infant  baptism  have 
sprung  up  of  human  device,  and  established  itself  so 
widely  and  so  absolutely?  If  this  rite  be  an  innova- 
tion and  corruption  among  the  institutions  of  the 
apostles,  it  must  have  come  in  by  slow  introduction. 
Three-quarters  of  a  century  would  hardly  suffice  for 
so  radical  and  fundamental  a  change  in  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  Church  of  God. 

For  it  must  be  firmly  carried  in  mind,  that  seventy- 
five  years  then  and  now  are,  practically,  two  very 
different  periods  of  time.  With  our  routes  of  travel 
by  land  and  sea,  and  lively  and  constant  going  to  and 
fro ;  with  our  printing  press,  prolific  in  daily,  weekly, 
and  volume  issues  ;  with  national  and  international 
postal  systems ;  with  locomotives  flying  across  the 
continents  like  birds  of  passage ;  with  telegraphic 
wires  gathering  into  one  centre  the  present  leading 
thoughts  of  five  continents  in  six  hours,  —  our  years  are 
half  centuries  to  those  of  Cyprian  and  old  Carthage. 
Then  thought  went  on  foot  from  city  to  city,  and  by 
word  of  mouth  from  country  to  country,  or;  if  it  took 
carriage,  it  was  the  lumbering  and  contracted  vehicle 
of  the  copyist  and  parchment.  Then  the  protracted 
absence  of  the  African  LivinG^stone  would  have 
created  little  surprise.  In  seventy-five  such  years 
could  an  innovation,  an  imposition,  creep  in  and 
carry  the  entire  African  Ohurch  ?  But  for  the  sake 
of  an  in(|uiry,  allow  three-quarters  of  a  century  to 
be  a  sufficient  time  for  this. 


228  THE   CHURCH  AND   HER  CHILDREN. 

Between  the  time  of  this  meeting  at  Carthage  and 
the  death  of  the  last  apostle  was  about  one  hundred 
and  fifty  years.  Divide  the  time  into  two  equal 
parts. 

Could  the  invention  and  imposition  of  this  rite 
have  taken  place  in  the  last  half  of  this  interval  ? 
But  that  would  have  been  within  the  lifetime  and 
knowledge  of  these  bishops.  If  an  innovation  of 
their  own  day,  and  known  to  them,  could  they  have 
gone  through  the  discussion  of  the  question  with  Fi- 
dus,  and  come  to  that  unanimous  and  written  result 
with  no  intimation  or  breathed  suspicion  that  the  or- 
dinance was  of  human  invention,  and  so  should  be 
left  with  the  widest  range  of  human  judgment  to  per- 
form when  it  pleased,  or  not  all  ?  The  entire  teaching 
and  spirit  of  the  letter  show  that  they  supposed  they 
were  dealing  with  a  divine  ordinance,  which  could 
not  be  true  if  introduced  within  their  memory  and 
knowleds^e. 

Then,  on  the  other  hand,  could  the  innovation  have 
taken  place  during  the  first  half  of  this  interval? 
But  it  is  claimed  by  those  who  regard  this  ordinance 
as  of  man's  devising,  that  it  is  a  great  violation  and 
departure  from  the  primitive  and  apostolical  constitu- 
tion of  the  Church.  It  is  an  innovation  and  change, 
say  they,  of  vast  magnitude.  Could  it  have  been 
wrought  in  seventy-five  years,  no  pure  and  protesting 
antipsedobaptist  minority  remaining,  nor  any  record 
of  the  violation  thus  done  to  God's  Church  ?  No 
person,  paper  or  tradition,  to  prevent  the  unity  of 
opinion  and  result  in  that  body  of  sixty-six  ?  Could 
the  change  have  been  wrought  in  those  first  seventy- 


THE  BISHOPS,   AND   CYPRIAN'S   LETTER.       229 

five  years,  followinfir  tlie  apostles,  when  there  were  so 
many  living  and  influential  men  in  the  Church  whom 
the  apostles  themselves  had  trained  and  indoctrinated  ? 
On  the  theory  that  infant  baptism  is  a  human  de- 
vice, and  a  forgery  thrust  in  among  apostolic  institu- 
tions, the  Letter  of  Cyprian  to  Fid  us  is  a  vast  per- 
plexity. The  narrow  and  definite  question  that  it 
answers,  the  number  of  bishops  for  whom  it  speaks, 
their  perfect  unanimity  in  opinion,  and  their  nearness 
to  the  apostolic  age,  are  confusing  thoughts,  if  we  as- 
sume that  this  rite  is  not  of  the  apostles.  If  it  be  an 
invention  of  ritualists,  begun  so  early,  carried  so 
thoroughly  and  widely,  and  all  knowledge  and  history 
of  its  corrupt  human  beginning  lost  so  profoundly, 
and  all  within  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  of  the 
apostolic  age,  then  it  is  a  marvel  in  Christian  history 
without  a  parallel.  We  turn  to  those  rejecting  this 
ordinance  for  any  comfortable  disposition  of  this  let- 
ter. Their  inventive  theory,  in  the  face  of  Cyprian's 
Letter,  would  almost  make  it  possible  to  forge  pas- 
sages into  the  Declaration  of  American  Independence. 

20 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

THE  TESTIMONY  OF   ORIGEN. 

"TTXE  come  now,  in  our  progress,  to  consult  the 
V  V  works  of  Origen.  This  brings  us  to  a  point 
for  observation  much  nearer  to  the  apostles ;  for  he 
was  born  at  Alexandria,  A.D.  185.  He  was  of  a 
Christian  ancestry,  parents  and  grandparents,  accord- 
ing to  Eusebius.i 

His  father,  as  a  devout  Christian,  required  him, 
when  a  boy,  to  commit  to  memory,  daily,  some  portion 
of  the  Scriptures ;  and,  when  the  father  suffered  mar- 
tyrdom, Origen,  then  a  lad  of  seventeen,  wished  to 
suffer  with  him,  and  was  kept  back  only  by  his  mother. 
Under  the  persecution,  the  whole  property  of  the 
Origen  family  was  confiscated.  Origen  became  a  cate- 
chetic  and  philosophical  teacher,  and  a  devout  Chris- 
tian, as  well  as  austere  ;  for  he  ate  the  coarsest  food, 
went  barefoot,  and  slept  on  the  ground.  He  sold  his 
large  and  valuable  pagan  library  for  a  perpetual  in- 
come of  about  seven  cents  a  day,  for  a  living,  and  so 
gave  himself  up  to  study  and  teach  and  propagate 
Christianity,  while  the  pagans  watched  his  house  and 


1  *Ek  TTpoyovuv  Kara  Xpiarbv.  —  £ccl.  His.  Lib.  vi.  c.  19. 
230 


THE  TESTIMONY  OF   ORIGEN.  231 

walks  for  opportunity  to  assassinate  him.  Not  only 
was  he  *'  master  of  the  literature  and  science  of  that 
age,"  says  Dr.  Murdock,  but  he  "  was  beyond  ques- 
tion the  first  biblical  schohxr  of  the  age."^ 

Guericke  calls  Origen  "  the  most  learned  and  stim- 
ulating, and  in  all  respects  one  of  the  most  distin- 
guished, of  the  primitive  fathers,  and  one  who  has 
exerted  an  abiding  influence  upon  the  history  of  the- 
ology." 3 

So  descending  from  a  Christian  ancestry,  and  so 
educated  in  things  pertaining  to  the  Christian  Church, 
any  testimony  he  may  give  on  the  question  in  hand 
should  have  great  weight.  Standing  so  near  to  the 
apostles,  the  light  between  him  and  them  could,  in- 
deed, be  but  little  obscured. 

Born  within  eighty-five  years  of  the  time  of  a  liv- 
ing apostle,  and  whose  grandfather,  very  like,  may 
have  known  "  the  beloved  disciple,"  Origen  had  no 
need  to  go  out  of  his  own  family  to  know  the  theory 
and  practice  of  the  apostolic  Church  in  regard  to  in- 
fant baptism.  When,  therefore,  Origen  says,  that 
"  the  Church  received  the  order  from  the  apostles  to 
give  baptism  to  infants  also,"  as  he  does  in  his  Com- 
mentary on  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,^  we  can  read- 
ily see  that  his  father  may  have  learned  this  from  men 
to  whom  apostles  taught  it  personally. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  we  are  coming  now  into 
close  quarters  with  the  apostles  themselves.      Our 


2MosHEnr,  i.  107. 

3  Ancient  Church,  Shedd's  Trans,  p.  227. 

*  "  Ecclesia  ah  apostolis  traditioneiu  suscepit  etiani  parvulis  bap- 
tism um  dare." 


232  THE  CHURCH  AND  HER  CHH^DREN. 

converging  lines  of  evidence  are  bringing  both  par- 
ties in  this  investigation  into  a  very  sharp  and  closing 
angle.  Geologists  often  find  bowlders  that  have  been 
carried  by  natural  forces  to  great  distances  from  their 
original  situations  and  home  mountains.  In  those  gla- 
cier periods  and  huge  ice-floes  from  the  north,  these 
rocky  masses  were  carried  southward  along  the  con- 
tinent ;  and  the  geologist,  finding  them  isolated  and 
peculiar,  as  he  goes  northward,  can  readily  tell  from 
their  characteristics,  to  what  kind  of  rocky  ranges 
and  strata  he  is  approaching  ;  and  he  at  length  finds 
the  mountain  itself,  whence  the  fragments  started. 
As  we  have  been  working  our  Avay  slowly  backward 
toward  the  apostolic  and  primitive  formations,  we 
have  been  meeting  these  ecclesiastical  bowlders. 
They  have  a  likeness  in  common,  Avhile  they  are 
found  in  the  converging  lines  of  a  common  drift.  It 
looks  now  as  if  we  should  find  their  common  starting 
place  and  home  in  the  mountains  that  are  round  about 
Jerusalem.  If  so,  they  will  probably  be  proved  to  be 
part  and  parcel  of  the  stones  of  Mount  Zion  itself. 
We  have  just  passed  by  the  Cyprian  bowlder.  To 
those  wishing  to  turn  it  aside  we  think  it  will  prove 
to  be  the  insuperahile  saxum.  The  Origenistic  group 
is  just  before  us. 

In  his  eighth  homily  on  Leviticus,  Origen  presses 
the  proofs  of  human  depravity ;  and,  to  the  other 
points,  he  makes  this  addition  :  — 

"  To  all  which  things  this  also  can  be  added,  that, 
since  the  baptism  of  the  Church  is  given  for  the 
remission  of  sins,  baptism,  according  to  the  usage  of 
the  Church,  is  also  given  to  infants,  when,  if  there 


THE  TESTIMONY  OF   ORIGEN.  233 

were  nothing  in  infants  that  needed  forgiveness,  this 
grace  of  baptism  would  seem  to  be  superfluous."  ^ 

Here  Origen  attempts  to  prove  one  of  his  peculiar 
notions  by  citing  the  rite  of  infant  baptism  as  a  com- 
mon practice  of  the  Church. 

In  another  of  his  commentaries  he  brings  out  the 
same  thought,  and  appeals  to  the  same  usage :  — 

"  As  the  occasion  gives  me  the  opportunity,  I  will 
notice  a  thing  that  causes  frequent  discussions  among 
the  brethren.  Infants  are  baptized  for  the  forgive- 
ness of  sins.  What  sins  ?  Or  when  did  they  sin  ? 
Or  how  can  there  be  any  reason  for  the  laver  for 
infants,  unless  for  the  reason  I  gave  just  now,  that 
no  one  is  free  from  taint,  not  if  his  life  had  been  but 
one  day  on  the  earth.  For  this  reason  infants  are 
baptized,  because  in  the  sacrament  of  baptism  natural 
corruption  is  washed  away."  ^ 

In  his  exposition  of  St.  Paul's  Epistle  to  the  Romans, 
he  says  that  the  Levitical  sin-offering  for  every  new- 
born child,  indicated  that  any  child,  even  of  one  day, 


6  "  Addi  liis  etiam  illud  potest,  iit  reqniratnr  qnifl  cansrir^  sit,  cum 
baptisma  ecclesiaj  in  reniissioueiu  peecatoruiu  tletiir,  secundiim  ec- 
clesiaj  observantiam  etiam  parviilis  baptisimiin  dari ;  cum  utique  si 
niliil  esse  in  parvulis  quod  ad  remissionem  deheret  et  indulgentiaui 
pertiuere,  gratia  baptismi  supertlua  videretur."  —  Ilom.  viii.  in  Lev. 
c.  12. 

6  "  Quod  frequenter  inter  fratres  qureritur,  loci  occasione  commo- 
tus,  retiacto.  Parvuli  baptizantur  in  remissionem  peccatorum. 
Quorum  peccatorum?  Vel  quo  Tempore  peccaveruntV  Aut  quo 
luodo  potest  ulla  lavacri  in  parvulis  ratio  subsistere,  nisi  juxta  ilium 
sensum  de  quo  paulo  ante  diximns:  nrdlus  mundus  a  sorde,  nee  si 
unius  diei  quidem  fuerit  vita  ejus  super  terram  ?  Et  quia  per  bap- 
tismi sacramentum  nativitatis  sordes  deponuutur,  propterea  baptiz- 
antur  et  parvidi."  —  Horn,  in  Lucam,  xiv. 
20* 


234  THE  CHTJRCH  AND   HER   CHILDREN. 

had  sins  to  be  remitted  ;  and  then  he  proceeds  to 
say :  — 

"  For  this  same  thing  the  Church  has  received  from 
the  apostles  the  order  to  administer  baptism  to  in- 
fants. For  they,  to  whom  the  divine  mysteries  were 
committed,  well  knew  that  there  is  a  natural  corrup- 
tion of  sin  in  all,  which  must  be  washed  away  by 
water  and  the  Spirit.  "  <" 

This  testimony  of  Origen  to  the  practice  of  infant 
baptism,  in  his  times  and  earlier,  has  the  greater 
force,  as  it  comes  in  the  easy  and  natural  way  of 
allusions.  He  has  no  point  to  establish  by  prov- 
ing that  it  was  practised.  He  makes  incidental  refer- 
rence  to  it,  as  well  known  and  common  practice.  He 
assumes  that  everybody  knows  the  fact,  and  he 
alludes  to  it  merely  to  use  it. 

He  also  says  that  the  Church  does  this  by  an  order 
or  tradition  from  the  apostles.  This  is  direct,  posi- 
tive, and  without  the  possibility  of  an  ambiguity. 
Indeed,  no  quotation  that  we  have  made  from  him 
is  open  to  that  verbal  criticism  and  affected  scepti- 
cism, by  which  the  vitality  and  force  are  sometimes 
expelled  from  a  well-cited  passage.  Origen,  as 
quoted,  is  so  explicit  as  to  be  beyond  the  power  of 
misunderstanding  and  misapplication. 

It  remains  only  to  speak,  in  a  word^  of  the  authen- 
ticity and  genuineness  of  these  quotations  from  Origen. 

7  "  Pro  hoc  et  ecclesia  ab  apostolis  traditionem  suscepit  etiam  par- 
vulis  baptisimini  dare.  Sciebant  enim  illi  qiiibiis  niysterioruiu  secreta 
coiinnissa  sunt  divinorum,  quia  essent  in  omnibus  genuinae  sordes 
peccati,  quae  per  aquaui  et  Spirutum  ablni  deberent."  —  Com.  in 
Epis.  ad.  Bom.  Lib.  v. 


THE  TESTIMONY  OF  ORIGEN.  235 

The  works  from  which  we  liave  extracted  them  re- 
main to  us  only  in  Lathi  transhxtions,  the  original 
Greek  having  perished.  The  homily  on  Leviticus, 
and  the  commentar}"  on  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans, 
were  translated  by  Rufinus,  and  the  homily  on  St. 
Luke  by  Jerome.  Both  these  translators  lived 
within  one  hundred  years  of  the  times  of  Origen ; 
and,  being  learned  men,  they  must  have  known 
whether  he  misstated  the  practice  of  the  Church  in 
this  rite.  If  they  suspected  him  of  error,  we  cannot 
suppose  they  would  have  translated  and  given  his 
erroneous  teachinGfs  to  the  world  without  caveat  or 
protest. 

It  is  true,  when  the  translated  works  of  Origen 
were  collected,  some  spurious  writings  were  gathered 
with  them,  and  attributed  to  him.  But  the  homily 
on  Luke  could  not  have  been  one  of  them ;  since 
Jerome  owns  to  the  fact  that  he  translated  it,  and 
no  one  questions  but  that  Rufinus  translated  the 
other  works  quoted. 

It  is  also  true  that  Rufinus  intentionally  made 
omissions,  in  his  translations,  of  passages  in  which  he 
regarded  Origen  as  unorthodox,  though  he  is  not 
accused  of  making  interpolations.  As  Rufinus 
was  an  ardent  admirer  of  Origen,  we  may  presume 
the  passages  in  question  would  have  been  omitted 
if  they  inculcated  what  the  Church  had  not  accepted, 
and  so  would  endanger  the  reputation  of  their  author. 
Besides,  they  are  sustained  fully  in  sentiment  by  the 
passage  in  the  homily  on  St.  Luke,  over  whose  genu- 
ineness there  hangs  no  doubt.  It  is  to  be  considered, 
too,  that   these   translations  were  made  while  their 


236  THE  CHURCH  AND   HER   CHHuDREN. 

Greek  originals  were  common ;  and  so  any  variations 
from  the  Greek  would  be  liable  to  immediate  dis- 
covery and  exposure. 

Neander,  alluding  to  the  statement  of  Origen,  that 
the  Church  received  the  order  from  the  apostles  to 
baptize  infants,  makes  this  remark  :  — 

"  An  expression,  by  the  way,  which  cannot  be  re- 
garded as  of  much  weight  in  this  age,  when  the 
inclination  was  so  strong  to  trace  every  institution, 
which  was  considered  of  special  importance,  to 
the  apostles."^ 

This  remark  of  the  eminent  historian  savors  not  a 
little  of  the  theorist ;  and  it  is  a  fair  index  to  that  un- 
fortunate fact  in  his  history,  that  all  his  historical 
evidences  on  infant  baptism  in  the  first  four  centuries 
are  for  the  institution  as  apostolical,  while  his  philo- 
sophizing on  the  facts  is  against  it.  There  appears 
to  be,  throughout  his  great  work,  a  purpose  wrought 
out  to  neutralize  the  legitimate  influence  of  the  facts 
that  he  adduces  on  this  subject. 

8  Ch.  His.  i.  314. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 


TERTULLIAN. 


"TTTE  come  next  in  order  to  take  the  testimony  of 
V  V  TertuUian,  a  presbyter  in  the  Church  at  Car- 
thage. He  Avas  born  there,  of  pagan  parents,  about 
A.D.  160.  This  brings  us  a  quarter  of  a  century 
nearer  to  the  apostles  than  the  times  of  Origen,  and 
within  a  century  of  the  time  when  the  most  of  the 
New  Testament  was  written.  He  was  one  of  the 
most  influential  and  learned  of  the  authors  of  his 
times.  Guericke  esteems  him  as  one  of  "  the  three 
leading  and  representative  minds  in  the  Church  at 
the  close  of  the  second  century."^ 

"  In  the  Latin  language,"  says  Mosheim,  "  scarcely 
any  writer  of  this  century  elucidated  and  defended  the 
Christian  religion,^  except  Tertullian."  "  He  had 
much  learning,  but  lacked  discretion  and  judgment."  ^ 
He  was  erratic,  and  even  heretical,  in  some  of  his 
religious  views,  being  for  years  a  Montanist.  But 
these  imperfections  can  in  no  manner  impeach  his 
ability  or  fidelity  in  making  historical  allusions  to  the 
ordinance  and  use  of  infant  baptism,  as  then  held  and 
practised. 

1  Ancient  Church,  14G;  note  2.  2  EccI.  ffis.  i.  122,  3. 

237 


238  THE  CHURCH  AND   HER  CHILDREN. 

He  wrote  a  treatise  on  the  subject  of  baptism. 
Holding  to  the  doctrine  that  the  stain  of  original 
sin  attaches  to  every  child  of  Adam,  and  that  bap- 
tism is  efficacious  to  wash  it  away,  he  says,  — 

"  Since  it  is  agreed  that  no  one  can  obtain  salva- 
tion without  baptism,  according  to  that  marked  say- 
ing of  the  Lord,  Except  a  man  be  born  of  water  he 
cannot  have  salvation,  scruples  arise,  and  the  rash  dis- 
sertations of  some,  how,  by  that  rule,  any  apostle  could 
be  saved,  excepting  St.  Paul.  For  since  Paul,  only 
of  them  all,  received  the  baptism  of  Christ,  the  others 
who  failed  of  the  water  of  Christ,  must  either  be  in 
great  danger,  that  the  rule  may  stand,  or  the  rule  is 
rescinded,  if  salvation  is  obtained  without  baptism."^ 

TertuUian  here  makes  baptism  a  logical  necessity 
for  salvation.  If,  then,  infants  did  not  receive  it, 
they  must  have  incurred  the  great  peril,  as  those 
"  who  failed  of  the  water  of  Christ." 

Of  course  we  have  now  nothing  to  do  with  the 
truth  or  error  of  those  notions  about  the  taint  of 
Adam's  sin,  and  its  supposed  washing  away  in  bap- 
tism and  failure  of  salvation  without  the  rite.  We 
are  concerned  only  with  the  practice  of  the  ancient 
Church  in  this  ordinance.  But  so  earnestly  did  Ter- 
tuUian hold  these  views  of  the  necessity  of  baptism, 

3  Quuiii  vero  prjBScribitur  nemiui  sine  baptisnio  competere  salu- 
tem.  ex  ilia  maxima  pronuiKuatioue  Domiiii,  qui  ait;  nisi  natus  ex 
aqna  qnis erit,  nonliabetsalntem;  suhorinnturscrnpuli,  imo  temerarii 
tractatus  qnorumdam,  qno  modo  exista  prsescrii^tione  apostolis  salus 
competat,  qnos  tinctos  non  inveniiuns  in  Domino,  pi'reter  Pauhun : 
imo,  cum  Paulus  solns  ex  illis  baptismnm  Christi  indnerit,  ant 
praejndicatum  esse  de  caeterorum  periculo,  qiii  careant  aqua  Christi, 
lit  pnescriptio  salva  sit;  aut  rescind!  prjescriptionem,  si  etiam  aoji 
tinctis  salus  statua  est.  — Tektull.,  Dq  Baptismo,  c.  12. 


TERTULLIAN.  239 

that  he  put  the  duty  on  laymen  to  administer  the 
rite,  when  death  made  the  circumstances  urgent. 
Yet  with  great  caution  they  were  to  baptize  :  — 

*'  Let  it  suffice  that  you  exercise  this  right  only  in 
extreme  cases,  when  the  circumstances  of  place  or 
time  or  person  urge  it.  Then  the  boldness  of  him 
helping  will  be  allowable,  when  the  danger  of  him 
needing  is  imperative."  ^ 

Reading  the  passages  now  quoted  frorri  this  eminent 
father,  no  one  would  doubt  as  to  his  theory  and  prac- 
tice in  this  matter,  and  from  these  would  naturally 
and  safely  infer  the  custom  of  the  Church  in  that  day. 
There  is,  however,  another  passage  in  Tertullian  that 
must  be  quoted  and  harmonized  with  the  preceding, 
if,  indeed,  there  is  any  discrepancy,  as  some  maintain. 

"  According  to  the  condition  and  disposition  and 
age,  also,  of  every  person,  the  delay  of  baptism  is 
more  useful,  but  especially  for  little  children.  For 
what  reason  is  there,  except  in  case  of  necessity,  that 
the  sponsors  should  be  brought  into  danger,  since 
they  may  fail  to  keep  their  promises  through  death, 
and  may  be  deceived  by  the  development  of  a  sinful 
disposition.  The  Master  indeed  says.  Forbid  them 
not  to  come  to  me.  Therefore,  let  them  come  when 
they  are  grown  up ;  let  them  come  when  they  are  in- 
structed, when  they  understand  Avhither  they  are  to 
come.  Let  them  be  made  Christians  when  they  are 
able  to  know  Christ.  Why  should  their  innocent 
age  make  haste  for  the  forgiveness  of  sins  ?  .  .  .  For 

4  Stifficiat  scilicet  in  iiecessitatibus  utaris,  siciibi  aut  loci  aut  tem- 
poris  aut  personal  conditio  conipellit.  Tunc  euiui  constantia  succiir- 
rentis  excipitur  cum  urget  circumstantia  periclitantis.  —  Do.  c.  xvii. 


240  THE  CHURCH  AND   HER  CHHJDREN. 

cause  no  less,  the  unmarried  should  be  delayed,  for 
whom  temptation  is  in  preparation,"  &c.^ 

These  passages  from  Tertullian  are  worthy  of 
several  specific  remarks. 

(1.)  What  he  here  says  is  declaratory  of  infant 
baptism,  as  common  usage  at  that  day.  He  urges  its 
delay  for  little  children ;  he  speaks  of  godfathers  in 
the  baptism  of  children;  he  recommends  delay  for 
those  whose  disposition  has  not  yet  shown  its  char- 
acter ;  he  quotes  the  command  of  our  Lord  concern- 
ing infants  ;  he  counsels  that  they  be  kept  back  till 
they  are  grown  up,  till  they  have  an  education,  till 
they  know  what  the  ordinance  means,  and  can  intel- 
ligently receive  Christ.  All  this  implies  infants,  and 
that  it  was  usual  to  baptize  them. 

(2.)  He  wishes  to  effect  a  change  in  the  practice 
of  the  Church  in  this  matter.  Personally,  he  does 
not  favor  early  baptism,  and  presses  his  objections  to 
it.  He  holds  it  to  be  indispensable  to  salvation,  and 
provides  for  the  administration  in  the  case  of  a  dying 
infant,  even  by  the  irregularity  of  lay  baptism.  Yet, 
where  delay  may  be  safe,  he  urges  delay,  as  if  sins 
committed  alter  baptism  could  have  remission  only 


5  Itaqiie  pro  cujusque  personse  conditione  ac  dispositione,  etiain 
setate,  ciinctatio  baptism!  utilior  est;  pnEcipiie  tamen  cii-ciim  par- 
viilos.  Quid  enim  necesse  est,  si  iion  tarn  necesse,  spousores  etiain 
periciilo  iugeri?  Quia  et  ipsi  per  mortalitatem  destituere  proniis- 
siones  suas  i)ossunt,  et  proventu  malfe  indolis  falli.  Ait  quidem 
Dorainus,  nolite  illos  prohibere  ad  ine  venire.  Veniant,  ergo,  dum 
adoleseunt,  veuiant  dum  discunt,  dum  quo  veniant  docentur. 
Fiant  Christiani  quum  Christum  nosse  potuerint.  Quid  festinat 
innocens  fetas  ad  remissionem  peccatorum?  .  .  .  Non  minori'  de 
•causa  iunupti  quoque  procrastinandi,  in  qoibus  tentatio  prseparata 
est,  etc.  —  Do.  c.  xviii. 


TERTULLIAN.  241 

with  peculiar  difficulty.  Virtually  he  advocates 
autipoedobaptist  views  in  a  poedobaptist  Church.  He 
leads  off  among  the  fathers  in  opposing  tlie  rite,  ex- 
cept the  peril  of  death  call  for  it.  He  holds  the 
two  notions,  that  baptism  must  precede  salvation, 
and  that  sins  committed  after  the  reception  of  the 
rite  incur  a  very  special  danger.  These  two  views 
led  him  to  defer  the  rite  as  long  as  possible,  yet  be 
ready  to  grant  it  in  extremities.  He  finds  the  custom 
of  the  Church  in  the  way,  and  so  seeks  to  work  a 
revolution,  showing  thus  ground  for  the  remark  of 
Mosheim,  that  he  ''lacked  discretion  and  judgment." 

(3.)  The  office  of  godfathers  and  godmothers  had 
become  an  established  fact  at  this  time.  He  refers 
to  such  persons  as  well  known,  and  as  assuming  a 
responsibility  for  the  infant  subjects  of  this  rite  well 
understood.  Then  the  rite  had  been  practised  long 
enough  to  establish  this  prominent  feature  among 
the  practices  of  the  ancient  Church.  True,  tliere 
were  three  classes  of  sponsors ;  but  plainly  he 
refers  to  sponsors  for  infants,  who  may  make  up  a 
sad  moral  character,  and  so  endanger  those  who 
promised  for  them  at  their  baptism. 

Whether  he  was  orthodox  or  heterodox,  consistent 
or  inconsistent,  in  his  own  Church,  is  no  question  now 
with  us.  His  historical  declarations  and  allusions 
concerning  this  ordinance  are  all  we  want,  and  they 
are  enough. 

(4.)  As  he  wished  to  dispense  with  this  rite  for  in- 
fants, why  did  he  not  press  the  point,  that  it  was  only 
a  human  institution  so  far  as  infants  are  concerned  ? 
This  would  have  been  the  best  thing  to  be  said  by 

21 


242  THE  CHUECH  AND  HER  CHH^DEEN. 

him  to  caiTj  his  point;  and,  as  born  within  sixty 
years  of  a  living  apostle,  he  should  have  known,  and 
doubtless  did  know,  what  was  apostolic  custom.  In 
his  work,  De  Baptismo,  he  makes  no  allusion  to  it  as 
of  human  invention,  when  it  was  for  the  highest 
interest  and  conclusion  of  his  argument  to  do  so. 

These  extracts  from  the  writings  of  this  eminent 
father  in  the  ancient  Church  cannot  fail  to  make  the 
single  impression,  that  infant  baptism  was  a  rite  gen- 
erally accepted  and  practised  at  that  very  early  day. 
We  see  not  how  one  can  take  any  other  view  of 
them,  unless  he  comes  up  to  the  view  out  of  a 
theory.  And  it  shows  the  scarcity  of  material,  and 
the  frailty  of  the  argument  against  this  institution, 
when  men  quote  Tertullian  as  opposing  the  rite  as  a 
novelty  and  an  innovation.  Even  Neander  says, 
"  Tertullian  appears  as  a  zealous  opponent  of  infant 
baptism,  a  proof  that  the  practice  had  not  as  yet 
come  to  be  regarded  as  an  apostolical  institution,  for 
otherwise  he  would  hardly  have  ventured  to  express 
himself  so  strongly  against  it."  ^ 

On  the  contrary,  his  allusions  to  the  practice  are 
as  to  a  rite  generally  accepted  and  used.  He  op- 
poses nothing  as  new,  and  makes  no  attack  on  a 
specified  innovation.  Himself  is  the  innovator,  and 
urges  the  Church  to  change.  With  a  strange  inter- 
pretation of  that  saying  of  our  Lord,  ''  Except  a 
man  be  born  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit,  he  cannot 
enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God,"  and  with  a  notion 
of  regeneration  almost  as  crude  as  that  of  Nicode- 

6  Church  History,  i.  312. 


TERTULLIAN.  213 

mus,  he  holds  baptism  to  be  indispensable  to  salva- 
tion, but  considers  one's  salvation  endangered  by 
sins  committed  after  he  has  received  the  ordinance. 
So  early  had  the  theory  of  baptismal  regeneration, 
and  the  very  dangerous  nature  of  sins  following, 
taken  definite  form  in  the  Church,  the  outworking 
of  which  idea,  two  and  three  centuries  later,  we  have 
already  detailed.  In  accordance  with  these  views 
Tcrtullian  naturally  and  logically  and  devoutly  urged 
the  Church  to  change  her  custom  of  early  baptisms, 
and  put  the  rite  as  late  for  the  subject  as  it  could  be 
safely.  The  baptismal  garment  was,  as  the  ascension 
robe,  to  be  put  on  so  late  that  there  would  be  the 
least  possible  danger  of  soiling  it.  Therefore,  the 
very  opposition  of  Tcrtullian  to  infant  baptism,  and 
the  reasons  for  his  opposition,  show  that  the  ordi- 
nance had  then  an  established  and  well-grounded 
reputation  and  favor  in  the  Church. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 


IRENJEUS 


IREN^US  has  a  passage  that  must  have  great 
weight  in  this  investigation,  if  it  be  evident,  that, 
under  the  words  he  uses,  he  is  referring  to  baptism. 
It  may  be  said,  in  general,  that  Irenseus  held  fully  to 
the  dogma  of  man's  total  apostasy  from  God,  and 
that  his  recovery  is  only  through  Christ.  This 
recovery  he  often,  if  not  generally,  connects  in  time 
with  baptism,  calling  it  "  the  redemption,"  "  the 
restoration,"  "  the  renewal,"  ''  the  regeneration  to  a 
better  life."  He  frequently  couples  regeneration 
with  baptism ;  as  already  and  thus  early  in  the 
Church  the  notion  was  beginning  to  foreshadow 
itself,  that  baptism  in  itself  is  operative  and  effica- 
cious to  aid  the  new  birth  and  insure  salvation.  The 
passage  in  question  is  a  reference  he  makes  to  Christ, 
in  his  work  "Against  Heresies." 

"  Being,  therefore,  a  master,  he  had  the  age  of  a 
master  ;  not  reprobating  nor  rising  above  man,  nor 
violating  in  himself  his  own  law  for  the  human  race, 
but  sanctifying  every  period  of  life,  through  the 
resemblance  there  was  to  him  in  it.  For  he  came  to 
save  all  by  himself ;  all,  I  say,  who  by  him  are  regen- 
erated unto  God :  infants  and  little  ones,  and  children 

244 


IRENiEUS:    "REGENERATED   UNTO  GOD."      245 

and  youth  and  seniors.  Therefore  he  came  through 
eacli  several  age,  —  being  made  an  infant  for  infants, 
sanctifying  infants  ;  a  little  one  for  little  ones,  sancti- 
fying those  of  that  age,  at  the  same  time  giving  them 
an  example  of  piety,  justice,  and  subjection ;  a  youth 
for  youths,"  &c.^ 

Whether  this  passage  is  pertinent  or  not,  as  evi- 
dence in  this  investigation  on  the  early  use  of  infant 
baptism,  turns  on  the  meaning  of  the  phrase,  "  re- 
generated unto  God,"  —  renascuntur  in  Deum,  It  is 
obvious  to  remark,  that  to  speak  of  infants  as  regen- 
erated unto  God,  meaning  thereby  the  new  birth 
spiritual  as  connected  with  the  ordinary  means  of 
grace,  is  a  very  unusual  expression.  Such  a  term 
would  be  proper  only  in  connection  with  the  theory 
of  baptismal  regeneration. 

A  wide  context  in  Jewish  usage,  in  the  apostolic 
and  previous  age,  and  among  the  earl}-  fathers,  can 
alone  determine  the  meaning  of  Irenoeus  in  this  pas- 
sage. 

The  Jews  were  accustomed,  in  New  Testament 
times  and  before,  to  call  the  baptism  of  a  proselyte 
his  "  regeneration,"  his  "  new  birth,"  or  his  "  being 
born  again." 

1  Magister  ergo  existens  magistri  qixoque  haliebat  petateui,  non 
reprobans  nee  supergrediens  homineni,  neque  solvens  suaiu  legem 
in  se  humani  generis;  sed  oinuein  .netatem  sanctificansper  illam  qnaj 
a*l  ipsiini  erat  siniilitndineni.  Omnes  enini  venit  per  seniet  ipsum 
salvare,  onanes,  inqnani,  qni  per  euni  renaseuntnr  in  Deuni,  infantes, 
et  parvulos,  et  pueros,  et  juvenes,  et  seniores.  Ideo  per  ojnneni 
venit  aitateni;  et  infantibiis  infans  factns,  sanctificans  infantes,  in 
parvulis  parvulus,  sanctiticans  banc  ip.sani  habentes  retateni;  simul 
et  exemphim  illis  pietatis  effectns,  et  justitije  et  subjectiouis ;  iu 
juveuibus  juveuls,  etc. — Lib.  ii.,  c.  22,  §4. 
21 


246  THE   CHURCH  AND  HER  CHHiDREN. 

These  Jewish  synonyms  for  baptism  have  their 
origin  in  times  preceding  the  Cliristian,  and  they 
grow  out  of  the  Jewish  idea  of  proselyte  baptism. 
According  to  the  theory  and  practice  of  the  Jews, 
baptism  converted  a  Gentile  into  a  Jew :  it  made  him 
the  citizen  of  another  nation ;  it  changed  his  nation- 
ality. It  was  to  the  Gentile  a  second  nativity,  a 
new  birth  civil.  As  to  citizenship  he  was  "  born 
again."  So  the  Rabbies  called  a  proselyte,  at  bap- 
tism, recens  natus.  And  Maimonides  says,  "  Gentilis 
proselyta  factus  ;  ecce  est  ut  infans  jam  natus." 

When,  therefore,  we  come  down  from  those  earlier 
Jewish  times  into  the  Christian  and  New  Testament 
period,  and  have  occasion  to  speak  of  persons  as 
changing  their  spiritual  nationality,  these  old  Jewish 
and  proselyte  forms  of  expression  need  only  to  be 
spiritualized  to  convey  the  idea.  One  abjures  the 
ruler  of  the  darkness  of  this  world,  and  becomes  a 
subject  in  the  kingdom  of  God's  dear  Son.  He  be- 
comes as  "  a  little  child  "  in  doino^  it.  After  doinof  it 
he  is  as  a  "  new-born  babe  :  "  "  modo  genitus  infans." 
—  Vulgate.  As  to  his  new  king,  kingdom,  and  citi- 
zenship, he  is  "  born  again,"  "  renatus  denuo."  —  Vul- 
gate, The  Jew  saw  fit  to  mark  the  changed  nation- 
ality of  the  Gentile  by  the  symbol  of  baptism,  and 
the  proselj^te  was  natus  ex  aqua  into  the  Jewish  com- 
monwealth. And  to  every  Gentile  proposing  this 
civil  change  into  Judaism  the  Sanhedrim  said,  with 
inexorable  words,  "  Verily,  verilj^,  we  say  unto  thee, 
except  a  Gentile  be  born  of  water  he  cannot  see  the 
kingdom  of  Israel." 

Here  were,  then,  in  the  Holy  Land,  and  in  the 


IRENiEUS:    "REGENERATED  UNTO  GOD."      247 

times  of  Christ,  a  symbolic  ceremon}^  and  a  verbal 
expression  for  it,  in  common  use  and  well  understood. 
The  idea  set  forth  therewith  was  worldly,  carnal,  and 
hardly  semi-religious  ;  for  the  act  brought  the  Gentile 
only  toward  the  Church  and  not  into  it. 

For  those  about  to  exchange  nationality  and  citi- 
zenship, the  Lord  Jesus  desired  a  ceremony,  a  symbol, 
and  an  expression  of  it.  He  had  already  taken,  and 
was  about  to  take,  very  many  Jewish  rites,  cere- 
monies, symbols  and  phrases,  and  Christianize  them 
for  the  new  form  of  his  old  Church.  Without,  there- 
fore, introducing  a  new  rite,  and  an  obscure  confusing 
terminology,  he  simply  elevates  this  common  cere- 
mony, symbol,  and  phrase  of  the  Jews,  and  fills  the 
whole  with  a  spiritual  import. 

Hence,  easily  and  naturally,  and  divinely  too,  those 
synonyms  for  baptism  have  come  into  the  New  Testa- 
ment :  "  Born  again,"  "  born  of  water,"  "  washing 
of  regeneration."  They  imply  the  visible,  physical 
ceremony  of  baptism  ;  while  they  carry  an  import  that 
is  spiritual,  and  infinitely  more  than  the  visible. 

These  synonyms  for  baptism  of  course  re-appear  in. 
the  Vulgate  Latin  Bible  of  the  second  century,  and 
for  St.  John  iii.  5,  we  have  "nisi  quis  renatus  fuerit 
ex  aqua  ;"  and  for  Titus  iii.  5,  we  have  "  per  lava- 
crum  regenerationis."  ^ 

These  Jewish  synonyms  for  baptism  appearing  in 
the  Greek  of  the  New  Testament,  and  re-appearing 
in  the  Latin  Vulgate,  they  will  of  course  be  repro- 

2  "The  laver  of  rej^eneration :  a  reference  to  haptism  which 
mi^ht  all  the  niore  easily  be  exMbited  as  a  laver,  Tuovrpov  etc." — 
La^ge  in  loco. 


248  THE  CHURCH  AND  HER   CHILDREN. 

duced  with  variations  by  the  Christian  writers  imme- 
diately following  the  apostles.  Enough  has,  there- 
fore, been  said  to  show  the  meaning  of  Irensens  in 
the  phrase  in  question.  Still,  to  set  forth  the  con- 
clusion very  clearly,  we  will  quote  additional  testi- 
mony. 

Justin  Martyr  lived  in  the  times  of  Irenseus,  hav- 
ing been  born  about  A.D.  114.  No  writings  of  the 
second  century,  now  extant,  are  of  more  worth  to 
Christian  history  ;  and  his  Dialogue  with  Trypho,  the 
Jew,  is  the  first  systematic  treatise  to  win  that  an- 
cient people  to  Christianity.  In  one  of  his  Apologies 
he  thus  speaks  of  baptism,  and  of  the  process  of  uni- 
ting with  the  Church :  — 

The  candidates  "  are  led  by  us  to  some  place  where 
there  is  water ;  and  after  the  manner  of  regeneration 
by  which  we  were  regenerated,  they  are  regenerated. 
In  the  name  of  God,  the  Father  and  Governor  of 
all  things,  and  of  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  and  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  they  are  washed  with  water.  For 
Christ  said :  '  Except  ye  be  regenerated  ye  cannot 
see  the  kingdom  of  heaven.'  '  And  we  have  re- 
ceived from  the  apostles  this  reason  for  this '  [rite] . 
'  There  is  pronounced  over  him  who  wishes  to  be 
born  again,  and  has  renounced  his  sins,  the  name  of 
God,  the  Father  and  Governor  of  the  universe  ;  and 
he  who  conducts  the  person  to  the  laver  to  be 
washed,  calls  him  by  this  name  only.'  "  ^ 

3  "ETretr  uyovrai  vtt'  r^ficov  ev&a  vdup  earl,  kcu  rponov  uvayew^aeuc  ov 
Kot  Tj/ielg  avTol  aveyevinj^rj^EV,  uvayevvuvTaL.  'Ett'  dvofiarog  yap  tov 
Jlarpbg  tuv  oTu^v  koI  AeaTrorov  QeoVf  km  tov  1.uTypo^  rjfjubv  'Ijjaov  Xpiorov 
KCU  JlvevfiaTOC  'Ayiov  ev  tcj  vdan   tote  Xovrpbv   ■noiovvrai.      Kcu  yap  6 


lEEN^US  :    "  REGENERATED   UNTO  GOD."      249 

Clemens  Alexandrinus  was  contemporary  with 
Irenseus,  and  would  be  quite  likel}^  to  use  the  same 
technical  phrases,  and  with  the  same  import  as 
Irenceus.  In  his  controversy  with  the  Gnostics  he 
has  occasion  to  use  the  baptismal  terms  ;  for  that  sect 
added  so  much  to  the  simple  rites  of  baptism  as  some- 
times to  make  the  converts  to  a  pure  Christianity  feel 
that  they  had  not  received  baptism  enough  to  be 
complete  Christians. 

We  take  only  sentences  enough  from  the  argument 
of  Clement  to  show  his  use  of  the  words  in  question. 
"  Immediately  on  the  baptism  of  the  Christ,  a  voice 
from  Heaven  declared  him  beloved.  —  Being  regener- 
ated, was  Christ  at  that  very  time  perfect ;  or,  as  a 
most  wicked  thing,  will  it  be  said  that  he  was  yet 
lacking  ?  —  As  soon  as  baptized  by  John  he  becomes 
perfect.  —  He  is  perfected  by  the  washing,  and  sanc- 
tified by  the  descent  of  the  Spirit.  —  He  having  been 
regenerated  immediately  obtained  a  completeness.  — 
One  having  been  regenerated,  as  in  fact  it  is  called, 
and  having  been  enlightened,  comes  at  once  into  a 
new  state."  *      * 

Xpiarb^  elTrev:  'Av  f^f)  uvayewq-df^Te,  ktI.  —  Apol.  Prim,  ad  Anton. 
Pium,  c.  Ixi. 

"And  this  food  is  called  among  us  the  Eucharist,  of  wlii(ih  no  one 
is  allowed  to  partake  but  the  man  who  believes  that  the  thijigs  whidi 
Ave  teach  are  true,  and  who  has  been  washed  with  the  washing  that 
is  for  the  remission  of  sins,  and  unto  regeneration."  —Do.,  c.  Ixvi. 

4  \vTiKa  fjsv  (iaTTTLl^ofdvu  TO)  Kvpiu  in:'  ovpavov  ETrr/xvoe  (p(^iV  {J-aprvg 
rj-yaiTTjfih'ov.  —  Ifjfjepov  uvayevvrjdelt;  o  XpLordi  r/67]  rtXttd^  iariv  ;  y  oantp 
aTOTTUTUTOv,  f W^fTT^f ;  —  'A/xa  Toivvv  TOi)  (Sann^eodai  uvrbv  vno  Tov 
luUvvov,  yiveraL  Te?.€ioc.  —  TeletovTat  6e  XovTpu  xai  tov  Uvei'iiarog  tjj 
KadoiSw)  ayui^eTOL.  —  'AvayewTjeevTe^,  evdiuq  to  TiTiciov  ineiXTicpafiev.  —  'O 
fiuvov  avvayevvTjdug,  tjOTTCtpolv  Kal  to  mofia  'exti,  nai  (^utloOuq,  uttijX/mktcu 
jjikv  napaxprj[W,  ktX.  —  Pondafjog.  Lib.  L  c.  6. 


250  THE  CHURCH  AND   HER  CHILDREN. 

Obviously  the  "  perfection,"  the  "  completeness," 
the  new  state,  here  spoken  of  by  Clement,  is  not 
spiritual,  but  ritual.  And  he  is  arguing  to  show  that 
baptism,  simple  as  Christ's,  introduces  one  fully  into 
Christian  relations  and  privileges,  as  naturalization 
makes  one  perfect,  in  citizenship.  In  doing  this,  he 
uses  baptism  and  regeneration  as  synonyms.  Either 
word  takes  in  wholly  and  measures  exactly  the 
meaning  of  the  other.  Evidently,  it  was  a  matter  of 
indifference  which  word  he  used  to  express  the  rite ; 
and  he  used  the  two  interchangeably  for  variation  in 
style.  "  Being  regenerated^  was  Christ  at  that  very 
time  perfect  ?  "  '-'-  As  soon  as  baptized  by  John  he 
became  perfect."  The  use  of  these  two  words  here, 
as  referring  to  that  one  and  the  same  act  at  the  Jor- 
dan, cannot  be  mistaken. 

Here  it  should  be  now  carefully  noted,  that  for  the 
last  eighteen  years  of  the  life  of  Irengeus,  he  and 
Clement  were  contemporary.  If,  therefore,  the 
meaning  of  Irengeus,  in  the  phrase,  "  regenerated 
unto  God,"  be  at  all  in  the  shade  of  doubt,  this  most 
bold  side  light  of  Clement,  his  Christian  neighbor 
and  co-worker,  must  make  it  clear,  beyond  question. 
These  quotations  from  Clement  come  in  to  explain, 
as  the  Madison  Papers  on  phrases  in  our  National 
Constitution. 

Tertullian  casts  more  light  on  this  passage  from 
Irengeus,  though  it  is  later,  and  more  distant.  He 
was  born  about  forty  years  after  the  death  of  Clem- 
ent, and  of  course  would  inherit  more  or  less  the 
theological  phrases  of  the  preceding  age. 

In  his  discussion  of  baptism  he  says,  — 


IKEN^CS  :    *'  REGENERATED    UNTO   GOD."      251 

"  It  is  agreed  that  no  one  obtains  salvation  with- 
out baptism,  according  to  the  noted  saying  of  our 
Lord :  '  Except  a  man  be  born  of  water  lie  cannot  be 
saved.'  The  hiw  of  baptizing  is  imposed  and  the 
form  given.  '  Go,'  said  he,  '  teach  tlie  nations,  bap- 
tizing them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the 
Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Spirit.'  To  this  law  it  is 
added  :  '  Except  one  be  born  again  of  water,  and  of 
the  Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
heaven.'  This  bound  one's  faith  to  the  necessity 
of  baptism.  Therefore,  afterward,  all  believers  were 
baptized."  ^ 

It  is  not  needful  to  quote  further  from  Tertullian 
to  show  his  use  of  these  synonyms  for  the  baptismal 
rite. 

Origen  indulges  in  the  same  phraseology  for  bap- 
tism as  Ireiiaeus  and  Clement.  Commenting  on  what 
Christ  says  of  offending  the  little  ones,  and  of  their 
angels,  he  raises  the  question,  when  the  angelic  can 
commence  in  the  life  of  the  little  ones  :  — 

"  Whether  they  assume  the  oversight  of  them  at 
the  time  of  the  washing  of  regeneration,  by  wliich 
they  are  born  again,  ...  or  from  their  birth,"  &c. 
Again,  on  the  passage  :  "  Ye  which  have  followed 
me  in  the  regeneration,"  he  says,    "  In   the  regenera- 


5  "Prrescribitiir  neinini  ainebaptismo  comi>etere  sahitein,  ex  ilia 
maxima  pronunciatione  Domini,  qui  ait:  nisi  natiis  ex  aqua  quis 
erit,  not  liabet  .salutcjii.  Lex  eneni  tin<;uen(li  iiiiposita  est,  et  forma 
pra3.-cnpta  :  Ite,  imjuit,  docete  iiariones,  tinguentes  eas  in  noiiien 
Patris,  et  Filii,  et  Spiritus  Sancti.  Huic  legi  eollata  detinitio  ilia, 
nisi  quis  renatus  fuerit  ex  aqua  et  Sjuritu,  non  intrabit  in  rejj^num 
cadorum;  ol)strinxit  lideni  ad  baptisnii  necessitateni.  Itaque  oninea 
exinde  credentes  tiuguebantur.  —  Tektull,,  De  Baptisrtw.    c.  xiL 


252  THE  CHURCH  AND  HER  CHILDREN, 

tion  by  the  laver,  every  one,  born  again  of  water  and 
of  the  Spirit,  is  free  from  stain."  ^ 

Cyprian's  use  of  the  words  under  consideration, 
and  of  their  synonyms,  makes  it  quite  pertinent  to  call 
attention  to  a  few  of  his  expressions.  Cyprian  was 
born,  probably,  while  Irenseus  was  yet  alive. 

In  his  epistle  to  Donatus,  giving  an  account  of  his 
own  conviction  and  conversion,  he  says,  — 

"  I  thought  it  a  very  difficult  and  hard  thing  for 
me,  with  my  habits,  that  which  the  divine  favor 
promised  for  my  salvation,  to  wit,  that  any  one  could 
be  born  again,  and  that,  animated  to  a  new  life  by 
the  laver  of  the  saving  Avater,  one  could  put  aside 
what  he  had  formerly  been."  ^ 

"  But  after  the  washing  away  of  the  stain  of  a  for- 
mer life  by  the  aid  of  the  regenerating  water,  it 
poured  light  from  above  on  the  expiated  and  pure 
heart."  « 

"  It  seems,  also,  a  foolish  thing,  since  that  second 
birth  is  spiritual  by  which  we  are  born  unto  Christ 
through  the  laver  of  regeneration,"  &c.^ 

6  TloTEpov  de^afievoi  ttjv  o'lKOvofuav  nepi  uvTOvg  dioiKhv  a(p'  ov  dta  T^wrpov 
iraTuvYyevEolac,  I)  t)'ev7]d7jcav  .  .  .  tj  ai:b  yereoeo)^.  —  Kara  Se  tov  lovrpov 
ndhryyEvealav  Trof  jUera  mdapog  iinb  pvitov  6  yEvrfQElg  uvoOev  k^  v6aToq  koX 
IlvEVfiaTog.  —  Comin.  in  Matt.  xviiL  10,  xix.  28. 

7  Difficile  prorsus,  ac  dimim  pro  illis  tunc  moribus  opinabar,  quod 
in  salutem  mibi  divina  indulgentia  pollicebatnr,  ut  qiiis  renasci 
deniio  possit ;  iitque  in  novara  vitam  lavacro  aqure  sahitaris  aniuia- 
tns,  quod  priu^  f uerat.  exponeret.  —  Epis.  1,  ad.  Don.  §3.  [In  the 
Oxford  edition  tliis  Epistle  is  put  among  the  Treatises  of  Cyprian.] 

8  Sed  postquam  undje  genitalis  auxilio  superioris  »vi  labe  detersa, 
in  expiatmn  pectus  ac  purum,  desuper  lumen  inf udit.  —  Do.  §  4. 

9  lllud  quoque  ineptxim,  ut  cum  nativitas  secunda  spiritualis  sit, 
qua  in  Christo  per  lavacrum  regenerate onis  nascimur,  etc.  —  Ep. 
Ixxiii.  §  5.  Ox.  ed.  Ixxiv. 


IRENJEUS  :    "  REGENERATED   UNTO  GOD."      253 

"  Rut  if  regeneration  is  in  the  laver,  that  is,  in  bap- 
tism," &C.10 

"  For  the  second  birth,  which  is  in  baptism,  begets 
sons  of  God,  &c.i^ 

"  As  in  the  hiver  of  the  saving  water  the  fire  of 
Gehenna  is  extinguished,  so  by  ahns  and  good  works 
the  flame  of  sin  is  quenched.  And  because  once,  in 
baptism,  the  remission  of  sins  is  granted,"  &c.^^ 

Many  more  passages,  probably  a  score,  could  be 
cited  from  Q'prian,  to  show  that  he  used  phrases 
similar  to  the  one  under  examination  from  Irenseus 
to  express  baptism.  Yet  why  increase  the  citation 
of  witnesses  ?  All  the  sons  of  Jacob  were  not  sum- 
moned to  prove  the  identity  of  Joseph.  Let  the 
case,  therefore,  be  brought  to  a  close. 

It  does  not  seem  needful  to  surround  this  phrase 
of  Irenseus,  renascuntur  in  Beum  infantes  et  parvulos^ 
etc.,  with  a  wider  context  for  interpretation.  It 
plainly  appears  to  have  been  the  usage  of  the  times 
to  express  baptism,  baptizing,  and  the  baptized,  by 
the  terms  regeneration,  regenerating,  born  again, 
born  of  water,  &c. 

We  are  the  slower  to  take  the  ancient  meaning 
and  spirit  of  such  phraseology,  because  we  now 
commonly  connect  the  saving  and  divine  work  of  the 

10  Si  autem  in  lavacro,  id  est,  in  baptismo,  est  regeneratio,  etc,  — 
Do.  §  6. 

11  Secunda  enim  nativitas,  qnse  est  in  baptismo,  filios  Dei  generat, 
etc. — Ep.  Ixxiv.  §  14.  Ox,  ed,  Ixxv. 

12  Sicut  lavacro  aqure  sahitaris  Gehenna?  ignis  extingiiitur,  ita 
eleemosynis  atque  operibiis  justis  delictorum  fiamnia  sopitnr,  Et 
quia  seniel,  in  baptismo,  lemissio  peccatonim  datur,  etc.  —  Cyp.  De 
Opcre  et  Eleemos.  §  2. 

22 


254  THE  CHURCH  AND   HER   CHH^DREN. 

Holy  Spirit  with  regeneration.  It  means  with  us 
that  radical  moral  change  and  creative  act  of  God  by 
which  one  becomes  a  new  creature  in  Christ  Jesus. 
But  it  is  in  comparatively  modern  times  that  the 
word  has  come  to  have  that  meaning  in  theological 
terminology.     Anciently  it  was  not  so. 

There  is  another  theory  of  interpretation  for  the 
passage.  It  is  said  that  Irenaeus  teaches  in  his  works, 
that  as  Adam  brought  death  to  the  human  race,  Christ 
brings  life,  and  in  that  sense  he  is  the  regenerator  of 
the  race.  All  which  is  true,  and  many  passages  culled 
from  his  writings  show  this.^^  But,  so  far  as  appears, 
Irenaeus  does  not  elsewhere  use  the  language  in  ques- 
tion to  express  the  redeeming  work  of  Christ. 

This  phrase,  however,  is  a  common  expression 
with  him  for  the  baptismal  ceremony,  if  not  in 
identical,  yet  similar  words,  and  of  the  same  import. 
"When  introducing  the  commission  of  our  Lord,  "  Go, 
teach  all  nations,  baptizing  them,"  &c.,  he  says, 
"  And  again,  giving  the  authority  for  regeneration 
unto  God  to  his  disciples,  he  said,"  &c.^* 

This  "  authority  for  regeneration  unto  God  "  can  be 
nothing  else  than  the  commission  for  baptizing.  For 
to  say  that  this  commission  implied  authority  to  work 
any  spiritual  regeneration,  is  simply  saying  that  a 
divine  energy  was  then  given  to  the  apostles  to  create 
men  anew  in  Christ  Jesus. 

Speaking  of  the  blind  man  to  whom  Jesus  restored 


13  Bib.  Sacra,  vi.  546-56. 

14  Et  iterum,  potestatem  regenerationis  in  Deum  demandans  di»- 
cipiilis,  dicebat  eis,  etc. 

Adv.  HjEr.  Lib.  iii.  c.  19. 


IREN^US  :    "  REGENERATED   UNTO  GOD."      255 

sight  by  tlie  anointing  and  the  washing  in  Siloara, 
Irenseus  calls  the  washing  figuratively,  "  the  washing 
of  regeneration,"  —  lavacrura  regenerationis,  —  and 
"  that  regeneration  which  is  by  tlie  laver  "  —  Earn 
qupe  per  lavacrura  est  regenerationem.^^ 

While  treating  of  the  errors  of  the  Valentinians, 
who  greatly  corrupted  baptism,  he  says,  that  they 
worked  ''  for  the  rejection  of  the  baptism  of  regenera- 
tion unto  God,  and  for  the  destruction  of  the  whole 
faith."  1*5 

We  have  now  come  up,  by  a  many-sided  approach, 
to  that  doubtful  phrase  of  Irenseus,  renascuntur  {71 
Deum,  infantes^  etc.  We  have  surrounded  the  pas- 
sage by  a  wide  context  of  other  authors,  living  at  and 
near  the  same  time  with  him.  They  are  the  most  com- 
petent interpreters,  writing  in  the  style  of  the  age, 
and  using  its  terminology.  They  leave  us  in  no 
doubt  whether,  in  those  times,  the  words  baptism  and 
regeneration,  were  synonyms.  They  use  them  as 
such. 

More  than  these  interpreters,  Irenseus  is  his  own. 
The  baptism  which  Christ  empowered  the  apostles  to 
bestow,  he  calls  a  "regeneration."  The  washing  of 
the  blind  man  in  Siloam,  he  calls  "  regeneration  by 
the  laver."  The  Valentinian  corruptions  of  this 
sacrament,  he  says,  amount  to  the  rejection  of  the 
"  baptism  of  regeneration."  Neander  tersely  says  of 
this  passage,  "  Regeneration  and  baptism  are  in 
Irena3us  intimately  connected;  and  it  is  difficult  to 

15  Do.  Lib.  v.,  c.  15. 

^^  E/f  k^upvqaLv  tov  ^annaiiaTO^  rfj^  ng  Qibv  avayewrjOEuc  kol  naorj^ 
T^f  nlarecj^  un&&eaiv.  —  I)o.  Lib.  i.,  c.  18. 


256  THE  CHURCH  AND   HER   CHILDREN. 

conceive  how  the  term  '  regeneration '  can  be  em- 
ployed in  reference  to  this  age  [of  infants]  to  denote 
anything  else  than  baptism."  ^'' 

So  near  to  the  times  of  the  apostles  do  we  find  this 
record  of  infant  baptism.  We  can  make  nothing  of 
the  phrase,  less  or  more  than  this.  And  this  by  a 
"Writer  who  was  born  within  fifteen  years,  probably, 
of  a  living  apostle.  That  leaves  but  a  short  space  till 
we  come  to  the  baptism  of  the  "  household  "  of  Lydia, 
and  of  Stephanas,  and  of  the  jailer. 

17  ch.  His.  L  311. 


CHAPTER   XXXn. 

HISTORIC  SILENCE. 

HERE  we  are  met  by  an  objection.  If  conceded 
that  Irenseus  refers  to  infant  baptism  in  the  passage 
just  examined,  and  if  conceded,  as  it  is,  that  this  is 
the  earliest  direct  reference  by  Christian  authors  to 
tills  ordinance,  there  remains  a  period  of  about  one 
hundred  years  between  the  death  of  the  last  apostle 
and  the  death  of  Irena3us,  during  which  the  writings 
of  the  fathers  make  no  allusion  to  this  institution. 
Those  not  accepting  the  ordinance  call  this  an  ominous 
historic  silence,  and  they  assume  the  position  as  one 
of  great  apparent  strength.  It  is  a  wise  assumption, 
for  this  is  the  last  stand-point  for  them. 

The  objection  made  is,  that,  for  one  hundred  years 
immediately  following  the  apostolic  age,  the  Chris- 
tian writings  fiu-nish  no  allusion  to  the  ordinance  in 
question.  We  have  given  to  the  objection  extra  force 
by  allowing  a  century  to  the  period.  It  is  probably 
much  less  ;  for  Irenseus  was  born  about  A.D.  114,  and 
suffered  martyrdom,  as  is  supposed,  A.D.  202.  His 
principal  work  as  an  author,  against  the  Gnostics  or 
Heresies,  in  which  the  passage  in  question  occurs, 
was  written  during  the    reign  of    Commodus,  who 

22*  257 


258  THE  CHURCH  AND  HER  CHILDREN. 

came  to  the  throne  A.D.  180.  The  ominous  silence, 
then,  may  be  only  about  eighty  years. 

The  objection  has  some  substance  and  much  sem- 
blance, and  we  will  consider  it  in  particulars. 

1.  The  rank  or  relative  importance  in  which  the 
New  Testament  left  baptism  should  be  regarded. 
The  Lord  Jesus  himself  never  baptized.^  Thus  by 
his  practice  he  gave  fundamental  truth  an  immense 
prominence  above  a  ceremony.  Saving  faith,  holy 
love,  and  consecration,  the  Christian  life, —  these  were 
the  main  things  with  him.  So  the  fruit  were  good 
and  the  tree  vigorous,  he  did  not  personally  attach  a 
label.  St.  Paul  had  instruction  into  this  very  spirit 
and  practice,  to  keep  rites  in  the  back-ground. 
"  Christ  sent  me  not  to  baptize,  but  to  preach  the 
gospel."  Hence  the  great  apostle  was  no  ritualist. 
He  had  seen  and  practised  enough  of  the  externals 
in  Judaism.  He  gave  his  attention,  as  a  Christian 
minister  and  scholar  and  writer,  to  doctrines  and 
hearts  and  fruits.  How  he  opens  on  the  petty 
sects  and  strifes  in  the  Corinthian  church !  He 
could  not  bear  to  see  the  great  essentials  of  the 
Christian  faith  and  life  obscured,  and  crowded  from 
their  centre,  by  the  merely  nominal. 

"  I  thank  God  that  I  baptized  none  of  you  but 
Crispus  and  Gains,  and  the  household  of  Stephanas. 
Besides  these,  I  know  not  whether  I  baptized  any 
other.  For  Christ  sent  me  not  to  ritualize,  but  to 
evangelize."  ^ 

Not  that  the  apostle  would  undervalue  a  title,  but 

1  Jolm  iv.  2.  2  1  Cor.  L  14-17. 


HISTORIC   SILENCE.  259 

would  keep  in  its  legitimate  pre-eminence  the  sub- 
stance to  be  entitled.  Doubtless  the  stamp,  or  trade- 
mark, of  the  manufacturer  is  a  good  thing,  attached  to 
a  finished  and  worthy  article  ;  but  how  immensely 
more  important  to  make  that  article  ! 

Under  St.  Paul's  thanksgiving  to  God,  that  lie  liad 
not  baptized  many,  but  left  it,  among  minor  things,  to 
helpers  and  deacons,  we  would  not  expect  the  apos- 
tolic fathers  to  press  this  rite  to  the  front  in  their 
preaching  and  writing.  It  was  left  for  an  age  farther 
from  tlie  apostolic  to  make  ceremonials  outrank  essen- 
tials, and  push  a  ritual  into  an  operative,  and  a  label 
above  the  fruit  on  the  tree. 

2.  Care  must  be  taken,  lest  the  objection  of  silence, 
belonging  to  the  second  century,  borrow  a  strength 
from  the  nineteenth  century.  For  it  is  liard  for  us, 
burdened  by  the  prolific  press  of  to-day,  to  judge  in 
equity  of  the  silence  of  history  and  the  poverty  of 
general  literature,  in  an  age  thirteen  hundred  years 
before  the  invention  of  printing,  and  when  new 
volumes  on  the  Christian  reliction  were  so  wid^ 
apart. 

During  the  year  1873,  one,  to  have  kept  up  with 
the  English  press,  American  and  foreign,  in  its 
copyright  issues  of  volumes  and  pamphlets,  must 
have  read  fifteen  works  a  day.  If  he  would  have 
followed  closely  the  press  in  the  entire  repub- 
lic of  letters,  he  must  have  read  eighty  works  a 
day. 

And,  besides  all  this,  there  is  the  daily  and  weekly, 
the  quarterly  and  occasional  miscellany,  the  thick- 
strewn  falling   leaves  of  every  hour  from  the   tree 


260  THE  CHURCH  AND   HER   CHTLBREN. 

of  knowledge,  that  never  aspire  to  the  dignity  of 
literary  property  in  a  copyright. 

With  the  literar}^  birth  and  culture  and  burden  we 
have  in  this  age,  we  take  up  a  literary  question  of  the 
second  century,  and  unconsciously  attempt  to  run  into 
a  bookstore  at  Rome  or  Athens,  Corinth  or  Alexandria, 
to  read  up  on  the  topic.  Doubtless,  men  there  would 
then  have  talked  with  us  on  the  subject ;  but  there 
would  not  have  been  interviewers,  stenographers, 
reporters,  and  printing-presses,  to  transmit  our  discus- 
sions to  the  nineteenth  century.  Athens  then  did 
not  publish  "  The  Pan  Optikon  Daily,"  nor  Rome 
"  The  Weekly  Orbis  Terrarum ; "  nor  did  Gamaliel 
then  edit  a "  Bibliotheca  Sacra "  at  Jerusalem,  or 
Quintus,  an  "  Ecclesiastical  Quarterly"  at  Alexandria. 
No  steamers  then  vexed  the  Ostia,  the  Piraeus,  the 
Bosporus,  and  the  mouths  of  the  Nile,  with  their 
burden  of  mail-bag^s.  Locomotives  were  not  then 
playing  along  both  slopes  of  the  Apennines  and 
Alps  ;  nor  did  telegraphic  wires  then  click  in  the 
Parthenon,  and  stretch  from  the  Acropolis  to  lands 
indefinitely  be3^ond  the  Indian  borders  of  Alexander. 
.Id^s  then  travelled  on  foot,  and  Hoe's  printing-press 
was  preceded  by  only  the  inkhorn  and  parchment. 
With  such  means  at  their  command  for  publishing, 
what  literary  remains  'could  we  expect  from  the 
Christian  writers  of  that  day  ? 

3.  The  Christian  scholars  and  authors  in  the  second 
century  were  very  few.  What  St.  Paul  said  to  the 
Corinthians,  about  the  year  sixty  of  our  Lord,  could 
have  lost  but  little  of  its  aptness  about  the  year  one 
hundred  and  sixty.     "  Ye  see  yom*  calling,  brethren, 


HISTORIC   SILENCE.  261 

how  tliat  not  many  wise  men  after  the  flesh,  not 
many  mighty,  not  many  noble,  are  called  :  but  God 
hath  chosen  the  foolish  things  of  the  world  to  con- 
found tlie  wise  ;  and  God  hath  chosen  the  weak 
things  of  the  world  to  confound  the  things  which 
are  might}^ ;  and  base  things  of  the  world,  and  things 
which  are  despised,  hath  God  chosen."  ^ 

This  is  not  a  very  hopeful  beginning  for  Christian 
authorship  in  the  second  century,  and  for  full  alcoves 
in  our  Library  of  the  Fathers.  The  historic  fact, 
therefore,  as  given  by  Mosheim,  as  to  the  number 
and  grade  of  the  Christian  writers  of  the  first  and 
second  centuries,  must  not  surprise  us,  while  it  must 
limit  our  expectations  from  the  authors  of  those  times. 
In  the  age  of  the  apostolic  fathers  he  says,  — 
"  It  was  not  deemed  so  essentially  requisite  in  a 
teacher  that  he  should  be  distinguished  for  profound 
or  extensive  knowledge,  either  human  or  divine,  as 
that  he  should  be  a  man  of  virtue  and  probity,  and, 
in  addition  to  a  due  measure  of  gravity,  be  possessed 
of  a  certain  degree  of  facility  in  imparting  instruction 
to  the  ignorant.  Had  the  apostles,  indeed,  thought 
otherwise,  and  directed  that  none  but  men  of  letters 
and  erudition  should  have  been  elected  to  the  office 
of  presbyters,  it  would  not  have  been  possible  for 
the  churches  to  have  complied  with  such  a  mandate ; 
since,  at  that  time,  the  number  of  wise  and  learned 
who  had  embraced  the  faith  of  Christ  was  but  small, 
and,  as  it  were,  of  no  account.  The  Christian  writers 
of  the  first  century,  consequently,  were  not  many  ; 
and  from  the  labors  of  the  few,  whose  works  have 

8  1  Cor.  i.  2G-28. 


262  THE  CHURCH  AND  HER  CHH^DREN. 

reached  us,  whether  we  consult  such  as  have  been 
handed  down  whole  and  entire,  or  such  as  carry  with 
them  the  marks  of  interpolation  and  corruption,  it  is 
uniformly  evident,  that,  in  unfolding  the  sacred  truths 
of  Christianity  to  the  world,  the  assistance  of  genius, 
of  art,  or  of  human  means  of  any  other  kind,  was  but 
little,  if  at  all,  courted."* 

It  must  not  surprise  us,  therefore,  in  looking  back 
through  the  eighty  years  or  so  between  Irenaeus,  our 
last  authority  for  infant  baptism,  and  St.  John,  to  find 
the  number  of  authors  very  few,  who  wrote  any  thing 
for  Christianity. 

4.  The  reflection  is  a  sad  one,  consequently,  that 
any  of  those  fcAv  writings  should  have  been  lost  to 
the  world.  And  the  regret  becomes  the  deeper,  if 
the  death  of  the  witness  and  the  loss  of  his  affidavit 
be  so  used  as  to  work  against  the  claim  to  the  fulness 
of  the  Christian  system.  The  conceded  loss  of  a  col- 
lection of  pax-)ers  pertinent  to  the  general  issue,  and 
the  possible  loss  among  them  of  one  paper  pertinent 
and  important  to  the  particular  issue,  should  at  least 
mitigate  an  adverse  judgment.  In  the  confessed  loss 
of  miscellaneous  historic  evidences,  equity  and  candor 
would  draw  a  wide  margin  for  the  unknown,  that 
should  be,  at  the  least,  neutral  ground.  In  the  court 
of  moral  equity,  denial  would  not  be  allowed  to  exceed 
affirmation,  as  to  the  value  of  the  loss. 

It  is  with  pain  that  the  Christian  scholar  reads  those 
references  in  Eusebius,  to  books  of  our  earliest  Chris- 
tian authors,  now  evidently  lost.  It  Avas  about  A.D. 
130,  that   Quadratus,   bishop    of  Athens,  presented 

4  Mosheim's  Com.  vol  i,,  200,  Miirdock's  ed. 


HISTORIC   SILENCE.  263 

to  Hadrian  a  written  apology,  or  defence,  of  Chris- 
tianity ;  but  it  has  perished.^  One  of  the  })hilosophers 
at  Athens,  Aristides,  embraced  Christianity,  and  wrote 
a  defence  of  it;  and  his  work  was  extant  in  the  seven- 
teenth century,  but  is  now  lost.^  Melito  of  Lydia 
wrote  eighteen  treatises  on  Christian  topics  ;  the  loss 
of  which  we  mourn  the  more,  as  one  of  them  was 
on  baptism.'^  Miltiades  flourished  as  a  writer  while 
Irenyeus  was  combating  heresy,  and  published  an 
Apology,  now  lost,  with  five  other  works.^  Apol- 
linaris,  bishop  of  Hierapolis,  in  Phrygia,  about  A.D. 
170,  made  valuable  contribution  to  the  Christian 
volumes  now  lost.^  The  same  may  be  said  of  Hege- 
sippus  of  Asia  Minor,  who,  about  A.D.  150,  wrote 
five  books  of  ecclesiastical -memoirs.^^ 

Nor  should  we  know  of  these  losses  but  for  the 
incidental  allusion  to  the  books  by  Eusebius  and 
others.  How  many  of  the  few  written  perished 
without  any  recognition,  and  were  left  without 
monument,  epitaph,  or  mound  even,  in  "  the  waste 
howling  wilderness "  of  paganism,  througli  which 
Christianity  came  up  to  its  promised  land,  Avill  never 
be  known.  And  when  pressed  denominationally  by 
this  ominous  historic  silence,  and  oi)pressed  by  it,  as 
all  ecclesiastical  scholarship  is,  there  is  relief  in  think- 
ing what  might  have  been.  For  it  is  only  technical 
justice  that  gains  by  the  death  of  witnesses. 

What  might  have  been  is  painfully  illustrated  by 
the   pagan   persecution   of  Diocletian.     This   began 

6  Euseb.  iv.  3.  «  Do.  iv.  3.  '  Do.  iv.  26. 

8  Do.  V.  17.  »  Do.  iv.  27.  1°  Do.  iv.  8,  22. 


264     THE  CHUBCH  AND  HER  CHILDEEN. 

A.D.  303.  Tlie  edict  of  the  emperor  called  for  the 
destruction  of  all  the  Christian  edifices.  Every  stone 
structure  was  to  be  pulled  down,  and  every  wooden 
one  burned.  It  called  also  for  the  destruction  of  all 
the  sacred  books  of  the  Christians ;  and  the  penalty 
of  death  hung  over  the  magistrate  who  should  be 
negligent,  or  the  Christian  who  should  be  recusant 
of  the  edict.  All  parchments,  papers,  letters,  and 
documents  of  any  kind,  kept  in  the  churches,  or  in 
the  houses  of  the  bishops,  were  called  forth,  and  given 
indiscriminately  to  the  flames. ^^ 

And  so,  across  the  Roman  empire,  these  vandal  fires 
went,  robbing  the  libraries  of  all  coming  time.  "  And 
hence,"  says  Mosheim,  ''  the  history  of  Christianity 
suffered  an  immense  loss  in  this  Diocletian  persecu- 
tion. For  all  that  had  come  down  from  the  earlier 
ages  of  the  Church,  — the  documents,  the  papers,  the 
epistles,  the  laws,  the  acts  of  the  martyrs  and  of 
councils,  from  which  the  early  history  of  the  Chris- 
tian community  might  be  happily  illustrated,  —  all,  or 
at  least  very  much  of  them,  perished  in  these  com- 
motions." ^2 

How  many  years  of  vain  study  and  unclosed  argu- 


11  So  Bassus,  governor  of  Adrianople,  says  to  Philip,  the  bishop  : 
Legem  Iinperatoris  autUstis.  .  .  .  Vasa,  ergo,  qiuBcunque  vohisciim 
sunt  aurea,  vel  argentea  ;  scripturas  etiam,  per  quas  vel  legitis,  vel 
docetis,  obtutibus  nostrse  potestatis  ingerite.  The  bishop,  standing 
iit  the  door  of  the  church,  with  his  assistants,  complied  in  part,  say- 
ing :  Vasa,  qnoe  postnlas,  mox  accipe.  Ista  contenmimus.  Non  pre- 
tioso  metallo  Deiim  colimus,  sed  timore.  The  sacred  books  he  would 
not  give  np.  These  Bassns  violently  snatched  from  their  place,  and 
burned  in  the  forum.  —  Moshelm,  ut  infra. 

1^  Mosheim's  Com.,  ii.  422,  et  seq.,  Murdock's  ed. 


HISTORIC  SILENCE.  265 

ment,  and  what  sorrow  in  the  world  of  letters,  those 
fires  of  Diocletian  inflicted! 

After  such  devastation  of  Christum  writings  in  the 
years  303  and  following,  we  would  not  expect  to  ftnd 
much  remaining  of  the  sacred  authorship  of  the  first 
and  second  centuries,  specially  if  we  remember  that 
any  little  remnant,  to  reach  our  day,  had  yet  to  run 
the  gauntlet  of  the  ages,  between  pagans  and  Jews, 
infidels  and  Moiiammedans.^^ 

Well  does  Milton  speak  of  this  practice.  After 
charc^infT  the  Church  and  the  Commonwealth  "•  to 
have  a  vigilant  eye  how  books  demean  themselves," 
he  says, ''  Yet,  on  the  other  hand,  as  good  almost  kill 
a  man  as  kill  a  good  book.  Who  kills  a  man,  kills  a 
reasonable  creature,  God's  image  ;  but  he  who  destroys 
a  good  book  kills  reason  itself,  — kills  the  image  of  God, 
as  it  were  in  the  eye.  Many  a  man  lives  a  burden  to 
the  earth  ;  but  a  good  book  is  the  precious  life-blood 
of  a  master  spirit,  embalmed  and  treasured  up  on  pur- 
pose to  a  life  beyond  life.  It  is  true,  no  age  can  restore 
a  life,  whereof  perhaps  there  is  no  great  loss ;  and  revo- 
lt Tliis  burning  of  unpopular  books  was  a  common  resort,  where 
brute  force  instea«l  of  arfrumeut  prevailed,  and  where  one  found  it 
easier  to  carry  the  opinions  of  his  opponent  to  the  stake,  than  his 
own  convictions  into  the  heart  of  that  opponent.  Thus,  those  early 
converts  at  Ephesiis,  under  the  preaching:  of  St.  Paul,  brou-^ht  together 
their  books  on  magic,  and  burned  them  to  the  value  of  seven  or  eight 
thousand  dollars. 

Some  twenty-five  years  later,  under  Domitian,  tliisact  of  theEphe- 
sian  Christians  was  imitated  by  the  Romans,  in  burning  the  works  of 
nnpopularauthoi-s.  Netjueinipsos  m<>doanctt)i-es,  se<l  in  libros  quo- 
que  eorxim  sa-vitum,  delegato  triumviris  minlstevio,  ut  monumen'a 
clarissimorum  ingeniorum  in  comirio  ac  foro  urerentur.  S>  ili  et, 
illo  igne  vocem  populi  Ilomani,  et  lilwrtateni  senatus,  et  con- 
scieutiam generis  humani  aboleri,  aibiuabautiu.  —  Taciti  Aoiac,  § ii 
26 


266  THE   CHUECH  AND   HER   CHELDREN. 

lutions  of  ages  do  not  oft  recover  the  loss  of  a  rejected 
truth,  for  the  want  of  which  whole  nations  fare  the 
worse."  ^* 

5.  The  small  number  of  Christian  treatises,  prior 
to  those  of  Irenseus,  that  remain  to  us.  Ecclesiasti- 
cal history  is  able  to  cite  but  eleven  authors,  whose 
writings  are  known  to  be  extant,  between  St.  John 
and  Irenaeus.  And  many  of  their  treatises  are  ex- 
ceedingly fragmentary,  as  showing  a  perilous  escape 
through  the  ages.  The  larger  number  of  the  Avorks, 
of  even  these  eleven,  have  perished.  The  entire 
amount  saved  out  of  the  Christian  writinsrs  of  the 
about  one  hundred  years,  covered  by  our  review  in 
this  chapter,  would  make  probably  less  than  five 
hundred  pages  in  Torrey's  Neander.  The  English 
press  of  to-day  is  issuing  that  amount,  under  copy- 
right, every  three  hours. ^^ 

6.  Consider  the  topics  that  would  naturally  and 
necessarily  come  up  for  discussion,  between  the  writ- 
ing of  the  New  Testament,  where  household  baptism 
is   mentioned,  and  the  allusion  to  it  by  Irenseus,  a 


14  Of  Unlicensed  Printins:. 

15  The  eleven  accredited  authors  of  the  period  nnder  review  are 
as  follows  :  Cleinens  lloinaniis  and  his  First  Epistle  ;  nnknowu 
author  of  The  Epistle  to  Diognetus ;  Ignatius  and  seven  geuuine 
epistles  to  the  Ephesians,  Magnesians,  Trallians,  Romans,  Phila- 
<lelphians,  Smyruieans,  and  to  Polycarp  ;  l*astor  of  Hermas  ;  Bar- 
nabas ;  Papias  ;  Polycarp  ;  Justin  Mart3-r  (not  including  the  sus- 
pected Discourse  to  the  Greeks,  Hortatory  Address  to  the  Greeks, 
and  On  the  Sole  Government  of  God)  ;  Tatian ;  Atheuagoras ; 
Theophilus. 

In  discriniinating  hetween  the  authentic  and  the  doubtful,  we 
have  followed,  mainly,  the  editors  of  The  Ante-Nicene  Christian 
library. 


HISTORIC  SILENCE.  2G7 

little  more  than  a  ceutiuy.  What  chance  has  infant 
baptism,  even  if  in  common  practice,  to  gain  the 
allusion  of  a  single  line  ? 

Christianity  had,  naturally,  a  prominent  struggle 
Avitii  paganism  ;  and  about  one-fourth  of  all  the  writ- 
ing mentioned  as  extant  is  devoted  to  this  issue,  to 
wit:  The  E[)istle  to  Diognetus ;  the  Plea  for  the 
Christians,  and  a  Treatise  on  the  Resurrection,  by 
Athenagoras,  the  most  scholarly  and  classic  of  all 
the  Apologists;  Tatian's  Address  to  the  Greeks; 
and  the  three  Books  of  Theophylus  to  Autolycus. 

In  such  discussions,  one  would  not  expect  to  find 
references  to  the  sacraments,  and  holy  days,  and 
services  of  the  Church.  An  argument  of  that  na- 
ture, and  with  pagans,  would  not  be  likely  to  come 
down  to  routine.  Hence,  the  fact  that  this  one- 
fourth  of  all  the  Christian  writings  extant  of  that 
period  makes  no  reference  to  the  sabbath,  to  public 
worship,  to  the  sacrament  of  the  supper  or  of  bap- 
tism. 

The  silence  concerning  baptism  is,  therefore,  equally 
ominous  concerning  these  other  three  marked  features 
in  the  Church.  This  brief  silence  of  history,  the  bare 
absence  of  testimony  for  the  time  being,  must  not  carry 
the  ecclesiastical  jury;  else  we  may  lose  out  of  the 
Church  her  sabbath,  and  public  worship,  and  solemn 
memorial  of  our  Lord's  passion.  An  argument  from 
the  unknown  has  this  liability  of  bringing  one  to  un- 
expected and  unwelcome  conclusions.  If  there  must 
be  an  argument  over  this  silent  section  of  history, 
one-fourth  of  the  whole  for  the  i)eriod  in  (piestion,  it 
must  be  by  the  logic  of  assumptions.      Would  it  not 


268  THE  CHUKCH  AND  HER  CHILDREN. 

be  better  to  assume  a  position  that  will  allow  to  us 
the  baptism  of  children,  than  a  position  that  will  take 
from  us  the  baptism  of  adults,  the  Lord's  Day  and 
congregational  worship,  and  the  communion  of 
saints  ? 

We  have  the  brief  epistle  of  Poly  carp  to  the 
Philippians ;  but  in  it  he  makes  no  reference  to  the 
sabbath,  baptism,  the  supper,  or  public  worship.  The 
same  is  true  of  the  fragments  that  we  have  of  the 
writings  of  Papias,  one  of  the  hearers  of  St.  John. 
The  first  epistle  of  Clemens  Romanus,  the  only  well 
accepted  one,  has  the  same  silence.  Here  are  seven 
of  the  eleven  Christian  autliors  who  wrote  prior  to 
the  date  of  the  celebrated  passage  from  Irenceiis  ;  and 
they  are  all  silent  concerning  the  Christian  sabbath, 
acts  of  public  worship  in  the  Church,  baptism,  and  the 
sacrament  of  the  supper.  Wh}^  then,  should  their 
silence  on  infant  baptism  be  regarded  as  so  significant 
and  adverse  ? 

Ignatius,  who  died  not  later  than  A.D.  IIG,  makes 
one  reference  to  public  worship,  two  to  the  sab- 
bath, five  to  the  sacred  supper,  and  four  to  bap- 
tism. 

The  pastor  of  Hermas,  who  flourished  about  A.D. 
1-30,  makes  no  allusion  to  the  sabbath,  or  to  public 
worship,  or  to  the  eucharist,  and  has  two  to  baptism. 
In  the  epistle  of  Barnabas  there  is  one  reference. 
Justin  Martyr,  who  was  contemporary  for  a  time 
with  Irenaeus,  and  who  died  A.D.  165,  has  no 
allusion  to  public  worship,  but  one  to  the  Lord's  Day, 
three  to  the  sacrament  of  the  supper,  and  four  to 
baptism. 


HISTORIC  SILENCE.  269 

But  let  us  make  a  further  analysis.  Of  the  eleven 
autliors  for  the  period,  four  only  make  reference  to 
baptism  of  any  kind.  Their  total  references  are  eleven. 
Two  of  these  are  merely  historical,  as  to  John's  bap- 
tism, and  to  Paul's  "  one  faith  and  one  baptism."  Of 
the  other  nine  references,  only  four  are  obvious  and 
clear  as  cases  of  only  adult  baptism.  The  remaining 
five  can  be  made  cases  of  adult  baptism  only  by  bald 
declaration ;  and  infant  baptism  can  be  excluded  from 
them  only  by  assumption.  To  declare  and  assume 
concerning  them,  is  simply  begging  the  question 
under  investigation.  We  proceed  to  give  the  full 
text  of  these  cases,  using  the  translation  of  the 
Ante-Nicene  Christian  Library. 

"  Let  us  further  inquire  whether  the  Lord  took  any 
care  to  foreshadow  the  water  [of  baptism]  and  the 
cross.  Concerning  the  water,  indeed,  it  is  written, 
in  reference  to  the  Israelites,  that  they  should  not 
receive  that  baptism  which  leads  to  the  remission  of 
sins,  but  should  procure  another  for  themselves."  ^^ 

John's  household  baptism,  and  the  commensurate 
relations  of  baptism  and  circumcision,  will  not  allow 
us  to  restrict  this  passage  to  adults  by  a  bald  declara- 
tion. 

"  It  is  not  lawful  without  the  bishop  either  to  bap- 
tize or  to  celebrate  a  love-feast ;  but  whatsoever  he 
shall  approve  of,  that  is  also  pleasing  to  God.  So 
that  every  thing  that  is  done  may  be  secure  and 
valid."!' 


18  Epistle  of  Barnabas,  Ante-Nic.  lib.  i.,  120. 
17  Ep.  of  Ignatius  to  the  Sniyrnajans.    Do.  p.  249. 
23* 


270  THE  CHURCH  AND   HER   CHH^DREN. 

This  passage  would  properly  cover  an  infant  or 
an  adult,  and  cannot  be  monopolized  by  a  theory. 
"  Please  ye  Him  under  whom  ye  fight,  and  from 
whom  ye  receive  your  wages.  Let  none  of  you  be 
found  a  deserter.  Let  your  baptism  endure  as  your 
arms  ;  your  faith  as  your  helmet ;  your  love  as  your 
spear;  jouy  patience  as  a  complete  panoply."  ^^ 

The  pertinence  and  power  of  this  charge  are  the 
same,  be  the  date  and  age  of  one's  baptism  what 
they  may.  The  charge  comports  with  infant  as  well 
as  with  adult  baptism  ;  and  no  fair  exegesis  can  divorce 
it  from  the  household,  as  of  Stephanas,  or  of  Lydia, 
or  of  the  jailer.  Assume,  for  a  moment,  the  usage  of 
infant  baptism,  and  it  will  be  seen  that  Ignatius  is 
speaking  aptly  and  practically. 

In  the  quotation  following,  it  will  be  noticed  that  a 
Gentile  is  addressing  a  Jew. 

"  Let  us  glorify  God,  all  nations  gathered  together  ; 
for  he  has  also  visited  us.  Let  us  glorif}^  him  by  the 
King  of  glory,  by  the  Lord  of  hosts.  For  he  has  been 
gracious  towards  the  Gentiles  also ;  and  our  sacrifices 
he  esteems  more  grateful  than  yours.  What  need, 
then,  have  I  of  circumcision,  who  have  been  witnessed 
to  by  God?  What  need  have  I  of  that  other 
baptism,  who  have  been  baptized  with  the  Holy 
Ghost." 

"And  we,  who  have  approached  God  through  Him 
[Christ],  have  received  not  carnal,  but  spiritual  cir- 
cumcision, which  Enoch  and  those  like  him  observed. 
And  we  have  received  it  through  baptism,  since  we 

18  Ep.  of  Ignatius  to  Poljcarp.    Do.  p.  264. 


HISTORIC   SILENCE.  "*       271 

were  sinners,  by  God's  mercy ;  and  all  men  may 
equally  obtain  it."  ^^ 

Let  it  be  here  noted  that  the  discussion  is  between 
a  Jew  and  a  Gentile.  The  Jew  naturally  and  inexo- 
rably insists  on  the  national  and  characteristic  ceremo- 
nial of  his  people,  when  a  Gentile  conies  in  among 
the  children,  and  into  the  Church,  of  Abraham.  That 
ceremonial  is  circumcision,  and  Justin  calls  it  also 
"  that  other  baptism." 

These  representative  men  of  two  nationalities,  and 
of  two  religious  theories,  cannot  discuss  the  relative 
merits  of  circumcision  and  of  baptism,  without  involv- 
ing the  relations  of  the  children  of  believers  to  the 
Church. 

All  the  proper  candidates  for  circumcision,  in  the 
theory  of  the  Jew,  necessarily  come  into  view  w^ith 
him  in  the  discussion.  The  Jew  cannot  exclude  from 
his  mind  the  children  of  the  proselyted  or  Christian- 
ized Gentile.  And  the  reply  of  Justin  may  be  pre- 
sumed to  meet  this  point  in  the  mind  of  the  Jew^  and 
so  meet  the  demand  of  his  theory.  The  Jew  says, 
''  The  Gentile,  coming  into  church  relations,  must  be 
circumcised."  The  Gentile  replies,  "  What  need 
have  I  of  circumcision,  who  have  been  baptized  ?  " 
The  moment  we  place  ourselves  as  listeners  to  their 
discussion,  the  question  about  children  arises  in  our 
minds.     It  cannot  be  excluded. 

We  do  not  affirm  that  infant  baptism  is  taught,  or 
necessarily  implied,  in  these  passages  from  Barnabas, 


19  Justin  Martyr.    Dialogue  with  Trypho  the  Jew.     Do.  ii.,  122 
and  140. 


272  THE  CHURCH   AND   HER  CHn.DREN". 

Ignatius,  and  Justin  Martyr.  We  wish  only  to  show 
the  possibility  of  its  being  there,  and  that  the  prob- 
abilities are  strongly  in  favor  of  the  inference  that  it 
is  there.  The  considerations  advanced  must  at  least 
rescue  the  quotations  from  a  monopoly  to  a  neutrality, 
and  save  the  words  of  Justin  from  the  assumption 
and  assertion  that  they  teach  only  adult  baptism. 

If  this  historic  silence  of  a  century  or  less  is  ad- 
duced in  testimony,  it  is  but  fitting  that  the  evidence 
be  analyzed.  If  silence  is  brought  upon  the  stand, 
and  compelled  to  speak,  we  claim  the  right  to  cross- 
question.  With  some  gratitude  for  the  occasion 
given  us,  and  with  no  anxiety  about  the  verdict,  we 
here  dismiss  this  branch  of  the  case. 


CHAPTER    XXXIII. 

HISTORIC  SILENCE  OP   THE  JEWS. 

THERE  is  another  kind  of  historic  silence  quite  as 
ominous  as  that  which  we  have  been  analyzing.     The 
tender  and  passionate  interest  of  the  Jews  in  all  that 
pertained  to  the  national,  ecclesiastical,  and  religious 
privileges  of  their  children,  is  proverbial.     The  very 
ancient  promises,  covenants,  and  prophecies  of  God 
were  marked  by  intentions  and  phrases  pertinent  to 
posterity  and   the   rights  of   childhood.     It   is  "  his 
household,"   ''his  seed,"   ''his  children   after  him," 
"  thee  and  thy  seed."     Whatever  blanks  were  left  to 
be  filled  up  variously,  these  phrases  covering  child- 
hood interests  were  always  imprinted  in  the  divine 
document.     All   of    the    organic   arrangements   and 
covenant  stipulations  of  God  with  his  ancient  people 
had  a  specific  recognition  of  the  children  of  believers. 
No  point  was  more  fundamental  or  vital  in  those 
early  instruments  of  the  theocracy.    The  dying  echoes 
of  the  Old  Testament  system,  and  the  opening  proph- 
ecies of  the  New,  are  in  the  letter  and  spirit  of  this 
same  point.     "  Behold,   I  will  send  you  Elijah  the 
prophet,  and  he  shall  turn  the  heart  of  the  fathers  to 
the  children,  and  the  heart  of  the  children  to  their 
fathers." 

278 


274  THE   CHURCH   AND   HER   CHILDREN. 

In  answer  to  this  final  promise,  in  the  last  two 
verses  of  the  Old  Testament,  there  came  Elijah,  John 
the  Baptist  "  preaching  in  the  wilderness  of  Judsea ; 
and  there  went  ont  to  him  Jerusalem,  and  all  Jndsea, 
and  all  the  region  round  about  Jordan,  and  were 
baptized  of  him  in  Jordan."  "  Nor  do  I  believe 
this  People,"  says  Lightfoot,  "  that  flocked  to 
John's  baptism,  were  so  forgetful  of  the  manner  and 
custom  of  the  nation,  that  they  brought  not  their 
little  children  also  with  them  to  be  baptized."  "  We 
suppose  that  men,  women,  and  children  came  to  Jolm's 
baptism,  according  to  the  manner  of  the  nation  in 
the  reception  of  proselytes." 

It  is  well  known  that  Judaism  opposed  the  inaugu- 
ration and  development  of  the  Christian  dispensation 
at  every  possible  point.  The  crucifixion  of  the  Head 
w^as  followed  up  by  most  persistent  endeavors  to 
destroy  the  body  of  believers ;  and  the  New  Testa- 
ment is  marked  by  these  Jewish  attacks,  and  the 
Christian  defences.  Many  of  the  Jews,  who  became 
devout  Christians,  still  retained  their  national  Juda- 
izing  tendencies ;  and  only  by  council  and  epistle, 
and  rebuke  and  forbearance,  and  the  slow  working  of 
time,  were  the}^  overcome. 

Allow,  now,  for  a  moment,  the  omission  of  circum- 
cision, and  the  non-admission  of  infant  baptism,  and 
it  will  be  seen  that  the  religious  status  of  the  child 
of  the  believer  is  greatly  and  even  radically  changed. 
To  the  Jew  and  to  the  Jadaizing  Christian  this  change 
in  the  relation  of  his  child  would  be  full  of  anguish 
and  anxieties.  All  the  covenant  rights  and  expecta- 
tions of  a  child  in  a  family  of  God  would  be  pain- 
fully endangered   in   the   estimation   of  the   parent. 


HISTORIC    SILENCE   OF   THE   JEWS.  275 

The  chililliood  promises  would  be  to  him  as  a  docu- 
ment unacknowledged  and  unsealed.  There  would 
be  no  covenantinix,  official,  and  organic  connection  of 
the  child  with  the  re-formed  Church  ;  and  the  contrast 
of  the  new  with  tlie  old  dispensation  wouhl  in  tliis 
respect  be  marked  and  alarming  and  provocative. 
How  could  the  Jew  overlook,  or  fail  to  attack,  the 
new  form  of  the  Church  in  this  weak  place  ?  How 
could  the  full  Christian,  yet  semi-Jew,  restrain  him- 
self at  this  ignoring  of  the  children  ? 

Studious  for  reasons  to  oppose  Christianity,  and 
under  both  Old  Testament  and  traditional  iiifluences 
to  ouard  the  rio'hts  and  interests  of  their  "  seed  after 
them,"  they  yet  make  here  no  point.  The  New 
Testament  shows  no  controversy  with  a  Jew  over  the 
status  of  the  child  in  the  reconstructed  Church.  No 
Jewish  writing  extant  contains  such  a  reference. 
Justin's  Dialogue  with  Trypho  the  Jew  is  a  system- 
atic, elaborate,  and  extended  argument  to  remove 
Jewish  objections  to  Christianit}^  and  commend  the 
system  to  a  hearty  acceptance,  as  God's  one  and 
ancient  plan  of  salvation.  Yet,  in  the  entire  volume, 
there  is  no  allusion  to  any  objection  or  difficulty  of 
this  kind  on  the  part  of  the  Jews. 

If  there  had  been  this  organic  change  in  the  struc- 
ture of  the  Church,  and  in  the  new  form  of  it  the 
child  so  left  out  of  notice  and  care,  could  there  have 
been  a  complete  and  unrecorded  acquiescence  ?.  Is 
not  this  historic  silence  ominous  of  a  fact,  and 
strongly  presumptive,  that  there  was  no  Jewish  op- 
position to  record,  because  there  was  no  sucli  organic 
change  in  the  structure  of  the  Church  that  left  the 
child  out  ? 


CHAPTER    XXXIV. 

SUMMARY  OF  THE  HISTORICAL  ARGUMENT. 

OUR  historical  disquisition  is  completed ;  and  it  may 
serve  the  common  interest  that  truth  has  in  this  dis- 
cussion to  state  the  result  of  it  in  a  few  condensed 
sentences. 

1.  We  opened  this  inquiry  A.D.  412,  because  in- 
fant baptism  is  found  to  be  the  then  universal  usage 
in  the  Church.  This  was  the  initial  year  of  the  Pela- 
gian controversy  under  the  lead  of  Augustine,  who 
declares  the  rite  to  have  been  received  from  the 
apostles. 

2.  In  this  controversy,  infant  baptism,  as  a  rite,  was 
incidentally  forced  into  doctrinal  relations  to  the  very 
head  of  the  question  in  dispute.  Consequently,  re- 
ferences to  the  rite  by  both  disputants  are  full  to  an 
overflow.  An  American  author  on  our  questions  of 
tariff  and  free  trade,  since  the  admission  of  Missouri 
to  the  Union  in  1820,  would  not  probably  make  more 
frequent  allusions  to  slavery,  as  an  existing  and  in- 
fluential fact. 

3.  When  not  involved  in  dispute,  we  have  seen 
that  even  voluminous  writers  among  the  early  fathers 
have  made  only  rare  references  to  this  ordinance.  In 
his  works  preceding  and  following  the  Pelagian  con- 

276 


SUMMARY  OF  THE   HISTORICAL    ARGUMENT.     277 

troversy,  Augustine  himself  but  seldom  brings  the 
point  before  his  reader.  Vincent,  Theodoret,  Isidore, 
and  Jerome,  of  the  age  following  Augustine,  wrote 
extensively,  and  under  the  full  practice  of  this  cere- 
mony ;  yet  their  allusions  to  it  are  only  incidental  and 
isolated.  The  reason  is  obvious.  The  practice  being 
universal,  and  unquestioned  in  its  authority,  their 
pens  could  do  better  service  on  other  themes.  This 
fact  becomes  very  important  when  the  objection  arises 
that  there  is  no  clear  reference  to  infant  baptism  in 
the  century  immediately  following  the  apostles. 

4.  We  notice,  that  whenever  an  occasion  calls  for 
it,  the  references  to  infant  baptism  are  sufficient. 
Those  early  authors,  like  the  modern  newspaper,  dis- 
cussed current  questions.  But  for  the  Pelagian  con- 
troversy, many  chapters  never  would  have  been 
written  on  this  rite  in  the  fifth  century,  while,  prior 
to  that,  the  allusions  of  authors  to  it  were  only  in- 
frequent, as  they  were  to  the  inspiration  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, the  sabbath,  or  the  sacrament  of  the  supper. 
For  example,  in  A.D.  253,  Fidus,  an  African  pastor, 
comes  before  a  council  of  bishops  with  a  question  of 
conscience,  whether  the  infant  may  be  baptized  before 
it  is  eight  days  old.  He  thinks  it  may  not ;  but  his 
opinion  receives  a  unanimous  negative,  the  iiemo  con- 
sensit^  of  his  sixty-five  associates. 

Here  is  an  accidental  revelation  of  an  indefinite 
amount  of  historical  fact  on  this  matter.  The  simple 
question  was  a  draft  at  sight,  and  promptly  honored. 
Any  historian  would  see,  by  this  incident,  that  the 
usage  was  then  universal,  and  that  the  Church  at  that 
time  would  have  honored  his  drafts  to  any  amount  for 

24 


278  THE  CHURCH  AND  HER  CHILDREN. 

facts  and  opinions  in  favor  of  Infant  Baptism,  as  an 
accepted  and  practised  sacrament.  And  the  presump- 
tion is  a  fair  one,  that,  if  Fidus  had  put  his  question  a 
centur}"  earlier,  Cyprian's  answer  could  have  been  writ- 
ten as  many  years  sooner.  Thus  it  is  that  accidents  and 
incidents  and  side  issues  have  given  us  fragments  or 
specimens  of  what  was  apparently  universal.  If  the 
body  but  show  blood  at  any  touch  of  the  lancet,  that 
is  evidence  enough  that  it  carries  it.  It  need  not 
bleed  alway  and  at  every  pore  for  proof. 

5.  The  lack  of  historical  reference  here  and  there, 
and  frequently  to  this  ordinance  in  extant  authors,  is 
on  the  two  common  principles,  —  that  daily  occur- 
rences fail  of  notice,  and  that  unneeded  is  uncalled 
evidence.  The  routine  of  life,  whether  domestic,  civil, 
or  religious,  does  not  ordinarily  go  into  record,  espe- 
cially if  the  writers  be  few  and  the  records  brief,  as 
in  those  early  ages.  It  is  rather  the  important,  the 
irregular,  and  the  extraordinary^,  the  exciting  interest 
of  the  time,  that  makes  a  passage  in  history. 

6.  In  the  first  and  simpler  ages  of  Christianity, 
doctrine  and  life  had  pre-eminence  over  rites  and 
ceremonies.  An  ordinance  was  not  as  much  as  a 
truth  to  those  godly  minds.  It  was  left  for  the 
middle  and  later  ages  of  formalists  and  sects  to  culti- 
vate the  mint,  anise,  and  cummin  of  an  overgrown 
ecclesiasticism,  and  express  their  sickly  life  in  ritual 
phylacteries.  After  English  swords  and  spears  have 
plucked  Magna  Charta  from  King  John  at  Runny- 
mede,  w4iy  should  Englishman  or  American  fre- 
quently recur  to  the  fundamental  ordinances  in  that 
document  ?     Its  few  grand  and  vast  principles  have 


SUMMARY   OF  THE  HrSTORICAL   ARGUMENT.     279 

gone  organic  into  national  life.  It  is  enough  to  as- 
sume witliout  naming  them,  in  the  foregone  con- 
chisions  and  fore-ordiuations  of  seven  centuries,  and 
attend  to  the  great  duty  of  using  them  in  the  na- 
tional developments  of  our  own  da}'. 

The  heirs  to  a  simple  Church  organization  two  thou- 
sand years  old,  with  a  modified  sacrament  in  it,  having, 
as  was  supposed,  an  apostolic  approval,  and  with  the 
great  work  on  them  of  giving  the  doctrine  and  life  of 
the  Churcli  to  the  world,  why  should  they  use  many 
words  on  this  common,  simple,  antique  ceremonial? 

7.  The  apostolical  authority  for  infant  baptism  is  not 
denied  by  those  most  deeply  interested  to  deny  it. 
Pelagius,  Coelestius,  and  others  deny  the  doctrine  of 
original  sin.  Yet,  as  one  proof  of  it,  the  universal 
practice  of  infant  baptism  to  wash  it  away  is  cited 
and  urored.  The  Pelagjians  felt  the  force  of  no  other 
argument  as  much.  Augustine  pressed  it  with  an 
intense  energy.  The  standing  of  Pelagius  in  the 
Church,  and  his  reputation  for  the  ages,  were  in 
peril.  While  yet  alive,  he  and  his  heres}^  so  called, 
were  arraigned  before  seven  councils,  and  seven- 
teen others  discussed  it  afterward.  And  the  prac- 
tice of  infant  baptism  in  the  universal  Church  was 
still  urged  as  proof  that  Pelagius  denied  a  universal 
tenet  of  the  Church.  Scholar  as  he  was,  and  a  trav- 
eller, familiar  with  religious  life  in  Egypt  and  Pales- 
tine, as  well  as  southern  Europe,  if  a  denial  of  the 
apostolic  authorit}'  of  this  rite  could  have  been  made, 
he  must  have  had  the  knowledge  to  do  it.  Cer- 
tainly he  had  an  intense  interest  to  do  it,  were  the 
denial  historically  possible.      Yet  he  frankly  admits 


280  THE   CHURCH   AND   HER   CHILDREN. 

that  "  he  never  had  heard  even  any  impious  heretic 
or  sectary  deny  it."  And  no  one  associated  with 
him  in  this  protracted  struggle,  and  so  overborne  by 
the  argument  from  this  ordinance,  ever  intimated  that 
it  was  a  human  innovation,  and  therefore  of  no  author- 
ity. 

8.  We  find  historical  evidences  of  Infant  Baptism 
within  about  eighty  years  of  apostolic  times.  The 
historical  exegesis  of  the  celebrated  expression  of 
Irengeus  would  seem  to  warrant  this  declaration. 
The  USU8  loquendi  of  the  several  authors  quoted  to 
explain  Irenseus  shows  a  wide  and  common  preva- 
lence of  the  rite  in  times  thus  near  to  the  apostles. 

9.  The  silence  of  authors' covering  this  less  than  a 
century  between  Irenaeus  and  the  apostles  is  no  way 
surprising.  Very  many  religious  authors  in  our 
own  age,  as  in  all  the  Christian  ages  preceding,  have 
failed  to  make  any  record  concerning  this  rite.  It  is 
to  be  remembered  that  the  great  majority  of  Christian 
authors  of  former  times,  as  of  to-day,  have  given  their 
pens  to  the  spirit  and  life  of  religion,  rather  than  to  its 
emblems  and  rites.  Moreover,  the  small  number  of 
Christian  authors  and  their  limited  writings,  and  the 
pagan  destruction  of  the  writings,  as  of  the  authors, 
must  lessen  our  surprise  at  this  historic  silence. 
Considering  the  unscholarly  character  of  the  Church 
in  the  second  century,  —  not  many  wise  men  after 
the  flesh,  but  the  foolish  things,  the  weak  things,  the 
base  things  of  the  world,  —  and  the  deadl}^  heathen 
hostilit}^  to  the  few  books  written  in  the  interests  of 
the  new  religion,  the  wonder  rather  is  that  any  record 
of  that  century  remains  from  a  Christian  pen  for  the 


SUMMARY   OF   THE   HISTORICAL   ARGUIMENT.     281 

ecclesiastical  historian  of  to-day.  The  pagans  did 
not  mean  that  any  should  be  left,  and  they  well  nigh 
carried  their  point. 

Considering  the  small  nnmber  of  Christian  authors 
of  the  first  two  centuries,  the  small  number  of  books 
written  by  them,  the  small  number  of  even  those  that 
escaped  the  heathen  persecutoi^,  and  the  unimportant 
place  of  rites  and  ceremonies  in  primitive  Christianit}^ 
we  have  left  to  us  as  much  from  tliose  two  hundred 
years  as  could  be  expected  on  Infant  Baptism. 

24* 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

THE  RELATIONS   OF    BAPTIZED     CHILDREN    TO     THE 
CHURCH. 

MUCH  of  the  confusion  of  theory  and  of  practice 
and  of  discussion  on  this  question  has  arisen  from 
a  prior  neglect  to  ascertain  what  is  the  constitution  of 
the  visible  Church.  On  the  premises  and  conclusions, 
scripturally  opened,  as  we  think,  and  closed,  in  the 
earlier  chapters  of  this  volume,  the  topic  of  the 
present  chapter  may  be  briefly  disposed  of. 

The  constitution  of  the  Church,  like  the  constitu- 
tion and  course  of  nature,  we  assume  to  be  a  divine 
arrangement.  This  point  needs  emphasis  in  both 
statement  and  acceptance,  to  guard  against  tradi- 
tional and  current  errors.  For  often  an  organization 
is  formed,  where  men  take  large  liberty  in  following 
human  policy  or  fancy  or  bias,  as  if  organizing  an 
agricultural  club ;  and  they  adapt  it  to  run  in  the 
historical  rut  of  some  provincial  or  sectarian  interest, 
and  then  call  that  body  a  "  church."  The  Church  of 
God  is  otherwise,  as  being  already  organized,  and  of 
old.  Its  laws,  therefore,  like  the  laws  of  nature,  are 
to  be  inquired  into  and  ascertained,  and  then  fol- 
lowed. The  Constitution  of  the  Church  is  not  open 
to  amendments,  like  the  constitution  of  the  United 

282 


THE  RELATIONS  OF   BAPTIZED   CHILDREN.      283 

States  ;  nor  can  any  supreme  eoclesiastical  court  get 
above  it,  and  pass  judgnient  on  its  original  fitness. 
Human  inquiry  about  it  is  limited  to  fact  and  import, 
and  human  liberty  about  it  is  limited  to  adoption. 

The  confusion  of  tongues  and  of  usages,  on  the  re- 
lation of  the  baptized  child  to  the  Church,  has  arisen 
from  the  unbounded  license  men  have  assumed  to 
form  religious  organizations,  and  call  them  "churches." 
They  vary  among  themselves  almost  as  much  as  social 
clubs,  or  trade-guilds.  The  model  of  each  is  usually 
some  other  ''  church  '*  of  man,  with  variations  to  suit 
the  "  new  church." 

A  number  of  believers  come  together,  and  organize 
what  they  call  a  "church."  The  manual  of  creed 
and  covenant  and  by-laws  makes  quite  a  book.  It 
embodies  an  elaborate  theological  system,  as  the 
Augsburg,  or  Heidelberg,  or  Westminster.  Perhaps 
it  is  a  provincial  and  awkward  combination  from  sev- 
eral creeds  and  one  or  two  leading  minds,  in  which 
some  pet  philosophy  or  hobby,  or  the  sharp  angles 
of  a  temporary  school,  are  the  predominant  features. 
The  covenant  and  by-laws  embody  a  code  of  Chris- 
tian life,  quite  minute,  and  conservative  or  radical 
or  ordinary,  according  to  the  tone  of  the  leaders  in 
the  new  enterprise.  This  code  may  all  be  very  scrip- 
tural, and  excites  remark  only  by  its  position,  as 
doorkeeper  at  the  assumed  Church  of  God.  For 
how  much  more  than  conceded  acceptance  with  God 
must  be  needed  to  make  one  acceptable  as  a  candi- 
date for  this  body !  Think  of  adding,  on  some  pen- 
tecostal  occasion,  and  by  fair  examination  and  the 
intelligent  assent  of  both  parties,  tliree  thousand  to 


284  THE  CHURCH  AND  HER  CHILDREN. 

this  so-called  "  church."  Think  of  five  hundred  of 
these  as  the  average  boy  and  girl  of  twelve  years ! 

It  must  not  surprise  us,  that,  with  rare  exceptions, 
only  adults  are  expected  to  unite  with  such  bodies, 
and  but  few  others  do  actually  enter  such  "  churches." 
The  examination  of  a  child,  conceded  to  be  Christian, 
in  such  a  creed  and  code,  on  the  presumption  of  an 
intelligent  acceptance  of  the  same,  is  repugnant  to 
our  ideas  of  fitness.  We  refrain  from  the  incongru- 
ity, out  of  respect  to  our  common-sense,  in  thus  pre- 
suming that  boys  and  girls  are  theologians  because 
they  are  Christians.  For  this,  as  a  leading  reason,  so 
few  Christian  children  enter  our  churches.  Failing 
as  we  do,  to  discover  any  efficiency  or  magical  grace 
in  an  unintelligent  response  to  Latin  praj^ers,  we  can- 
not bring  ourselves  to  enforce  this  intellectual  and 
philosophical  ritualism  on  our  children.  Better,  and 
sufficient  too,  their  experimental  understanding  of 
the  love  of  Jesus,  expressed  in  simple  phrases.  Well 
would  the  little  child  of  God  say  with  the  great  apos- 
tle, "  In  the  Church  I  had  rather  speak  five  words 
with  my  understanding,  than  ten  thousand  words  in 
an  unknown  tongue." 

Or,  the  organization  is  not  provincial,  rustic,  and 
modern,  as  the  one  supposed.  Perhaps  it  is  venera- 
ble with  centuries,  and  continental  in  its  enclosure  of 
millions  of  communicants.  Still  it  may  go  very  wide 
of  Biblical  warrant  and  simplicity,  as  the  one  earthly 
house  for  the  one  family  of  God. 

The  Russo-Greek  Church  has  lately  declined  fel- 
lowship in  the  eucharist  with  the  Anglican  church, 
because  the  latter  is  not  in  perfect  accord  with  it  in 


THE  RELATIONS  OF  BAPTIZED   CHILDKEN.      285 

dogma,  and  docs  not  accej^t  unconditionally  the 
authority  and  acts  of  the  first  seven  oecumenical 
councils. 

Such  a  body  of  religious  membership  and  purpose, 
whether  in  an  American  village  or  in  St.  Petersburg, 
is  so  much  other  than  the  Church  of  God,  that  it  be- 
comes a  mere  association,  order,  guild,  or  club  of  the 
religious  kind.  AVhen  compared  with  that  divine 
institution  set  forth  in  the  Scriptures  in  its  august 
simplicity,  it  so  lacks  resemblance  that  it  would  seem 
to  be  called  a  "  church"  by  courtesy  only. 

It  is  these  additions,  subtractions,  variations,  and 
imiDrovements,  that  human  hands  have  presumed  to 
make,  affecting  a  divine  institution,  that  so  bewilder 
the  believing  parent  on  the  relations  of  his  baptized 
child  to  the  Church. 

What  presumption  in  Moses,  in  building  the  taber- 
nacle, to  have  assumed  as  great  departures  from  the 
pattern  shown  in  the  mount,  under  the  leading  of 
ambitious  arcliitects  and  interested  upholsterers  !  In 
entering  such  a  modified  and  humanly  improved 
tabernacle,  the  devout  Jew  may  well  have  been  in 
doubt  whether  the  structure  were  the  divinely  ar- 
ranged house  of  worship,  or  a  theatre.  Moses  had 
no  liberty,  and  took  none,  to  vary  the  cubits  of  a 
curtain,  or  the  number  of  the  taches,  the  length  of  a 
board,  or  the  color  of  a  curtain-cord. 

In  the  ecclesiastical  history  of  the  Christian  dis- 
pensation, the  first  volume  is  The  Acts  of  the 
Apostles.  But  neither  the  ordinary  reader  nor  the 
extraordinary  student  finds  there  the  doctrinal  doors 
for  admission  that  to-day  open  and  close.     There  is 

83 


286  THE  CHURCH  AND  HER  CHILDREN. 

a  wide  departure  from  primitive  simplicity  in  this 
thing  ;  and  it  is  the  departure  that  makes  the  confu- 
sion on  the  question  under  discussion.  Indeed,  that 
departure  it  is,  that  has  necessitated  the  discussion. 
In  the  beginning  it  was  not  so.  And,  if  one  finds 
himself  making  criticisms  adverse  to  the  positions 
set  forth  in  this  chapter,  it  is  suggested,  that,  on 
reflection,  he  would  find  himself  unconsciously  op- 
posing positions  taken  from  the  New  Testament,  and 
opposing  them  by  theories  and  practices  introduced 
long  after  the  New  Testament  was  written. 

It  aids  toward  a  just  conclusion  in  this  inquiry,  to 
consider  how  the  Christian  Church,  until  compara- 
tively lately,  has  been  accustomed  to  treat  the  chil- 
dren of  her  communicants.  Their  relations  to  tlie 
Church  have  been  held  to  be  very  intimate  and  ten- 
der and  sacred ;  while  the  Church  has  felt  a  solemn 
and  covenant  obligation  to  them,  and  responsibility 
for  them,  such  as  she  has  felt  toward  no  other  class. 
She  has  exacted  the  highest  possible  vows  for  them 
from  confessing  parents,  and  then  has  herself  as- 
sumed a  care  in  their  religious  training  and  moral 
walk,  that  have  marked  the  children  of  church- 
members,  as  in  peculiar  relations  to  her  and  to  the 
outside  world.  As  the  great  moral  and  religious 
educator,  she  has  had  her  children  as  her  primary 
pupils ;  and  her  system  of  teaching  and  preaching 
and  text-books  has  had  an  elaborate  adaptation  to 
her  infantile  and  juvenile  constituency. 

To  one  familiar  with  the  routine  of  the  old-Church 
work,  this  system  so  varied  and  conq^lex,  so  compre- 
hensive and  yet  minute,  so  simple  in  practice  and  yet 


THE  RELATIONS  OF   BAPTIZED   CHILDREN.      287 

SO  philosophical  a,nd  profound  in  theory,  is  nothing 
less  than  amazing.  In  fundamental  policy  and  com- 
pass and  power,  nothing  now  in  use  serves  as  an  illus- 
tration or  comparison,  unless  it  be  our  national  and 
omnipresent  Sabbath-school  system.  And  when  we 
regard  a  systematic  religious  drill,  for  one  definite 
end,  in  a  proper  cliurch-line,  this  illustration  is  nigh 
to  a  failure.  In  which  modern  system,  b}^  the  by, 
has  not  the  God  of  Abraham  come  to  the  rescue  of 
the  children  of  the  faithful  ?  The  Church  having 
abandoned  the  original  and  divinely  arranged  plan, 
that  her  children  should  be  her  especial  religious 
pupils,  Providence  seems  to  have  allowed  this  outside 
and  abnormal  system  to  do  Avhat  the  Church  has 
neglected  to  do.  Perlmps  a  better  illustration  than 
our  Sabbath-school  system,  of  the  care  the  ancient 
Christian  Church  assumed  for  her  cliildren,  may  be 
found  in  the  religious  regime  of  the  Jews,  which  was 
personal,  minute,  comprehensive,  vigilant,  and  exact- 
ing. 

In  alluding  to  this  elaborate  system  of  the  old- 
Church  for  the  training  of  her  children,  reference  is 
not  had  to  the  Biblical  and  spiritual  correctness  of 
the  work  done,  but  rather  to  the  correct  conception 
the  Church  had  of  lier  organic  constitutional  obliga- 
tion to  do  it,  and  to  the  fidelity  and  energy  with 
which  she  has  aimed  to  meet  that  obligation.  With- 
out judging  of  the  quality  of  the  work,  so  much  of 
which  must  be  disapproved,  even  as  in  the  modern 
Sabbath-school  system,  this  is  to  be  said,  —  that,  like 
Abraham  her  first  earthly  liead,  she  has  commanded 
her  children  and  her  household  after  her. 


288  THE   CHUECH  AND  HER   CHILDEEN. 

Until  quite  late  in  the  Christian  centuries,  the 
notion  was  universal,  that  the  children  of  communi- 
cants belong  to  the  Church  for  nurture,  as  the  chil- 
dren of  citizens  do  to  the  state.  In  the  civil  body, 
the  child  is,  to  an  extent,  the  ward  of  the  state  for 
protection,  culture,  and  development,  as  its  invested 
interest.  So,  in  the  religious  body,  the  child  has 
been  lield  to  be  a  member  immature,  for  tender  care 
and  guarded  growth.  In  herself  a  self-propagating 
body,  the  Church,  until  lately,  has  been  able  to  see 
that  her  growth,  and  even  her  perpetuity,  have  too 
vital  a  connection  with  her  children  to  allow  of  their 
neglect.  The  question  of  privilege,  right,  and  obli- 
gation on  the  part  of  the  child,  is  a  question  of  the 
child's  growth  in  susceptibilit3^  In  other  and  broader 
words,  it  is  the  question  of  childhood  universal,  in  the 
state,  in  the  neighborhood,  and  in  the  family,  as  well 
as  in  the  Church.  This  theory  and  practice  of  the  old- 
Church,  in  regard  to  her  children,  is  but  an  accept- 
ance of  the  law  of  self-preservation,  —  a  first  law  of 
organic  being;  and,  when  well  applied,  it  proves 
itself  worthy  of  the  divine  hand  that  wrought  it 
originally  into  the  constitution  of  his  own  spiritual 
family. 

The  modern  and  opposite  notion,  prevalent  now  in 
a  small  section  of  the  Church,  stands  in  striking  con- 
trast with  this.  Under  the  centrifugal  force  from 
monarchy  to  democracy,  and  from  consolidation  to 
individualism,  and  from  papacy  to  independency, 
started  two  and  three  centuries  ago,  this  section  of 
the  Church  has  resolved  itself  into  an  aggregation  of 
individual  adults.     As  a  logical  and  fitting  result,  it 


THE  RELATIONS   OF  BAPTIZED  CHILDREN.       289 

lias  come  to  be  managed  on  the  grade,  and  in  the 
interests,  of  adults.  Its  public  religious  services  are 
not  adapted  to  children,  nor  much  expected  to  benefit 
them ;  wliile  it  does  not  provide,  separately,  any  spe- 
cial and  fitting  means  for  their  spiritual  nurture.  It 
is  an  organization  of  men  and  women,  run  in  the 
moods  and  methods  and  interests  of  manhood  and 
womanhood.  It  is  as  a  high  school,  neither  admitting 
primary  scholars,  nor  contemplating  a  primary  depart- 
ment. It  stands  aloof  from  the  children  of  its  mem- 
bers, as  unfit  to  be  taken  into  ecclesiastical  relations, 
and  incompetent  to  be  made  fit.  If  infant  baptism 
is  practised,  it  is  as  a  perfunctory  ritual,  or  beautiful 
ceremony.  Little  comes  of  it ;  nothing  is  expected 
of  it ;  and  nothing  special  is  done  with  and  for  the 
subjects  of  it.  The  baptized  children  are  not  recog- 
nized as  other  than  the  unbaptized,  unless  by  an 
occasional  prayerful  allusion.  They  are  thus  left  to 
constitute  their  own  religious  standing.  So  far  as 
organic  and  juvenile  Church-work  is  concerned,  they 
are  left  in  painful  waiting  for  maturity  in  youthful 
irregularities,  for  spasmodic  and  agonizing  convic- 
tions, striking  conversions,  and  abrupt  gatherings 
into  the  Church.  Single  churches  have  done  better, 
and  taken  care  of  their  children  with  something  of 
system  and  of  success.  In  others,  some  relief  from 
the  total  neglect  has  been  found  in  maternal  associ- 
ations. More  frequently  a  Sabbath-school  has  sprung 
up  outside  of  the  Church,  and  independent  of  it,  to 
supplement  the  inside  failure,  reminding  one  of  the 
foundling  hospital  for  abandoned  offspring. 

The  underlying  assumption  in  this  modern  and  in- 

33* 


290  THE  CHUECH  AND   HER   CHILDREN. 

novating  theory  is,  that  the  parent  has  neither  obli- 
gation nor  right  to  enter  into  Church-covenant  for 
the  child,  because  thereby  the  perfect  liberty  of  the 
child  may  by  and  by  seem  to  have  been  contracted. 
Abraham  has  no  right  to  circumcise  an  infant  Isaac, 
because  by  and  by  an  adult  Isaac  may  complain  of 
an  infi'ingeraent  of  his  personal  liberties.  The  as- 
sumption needs  only  an  illustrated  statement  to  be 
rejected.  It  is  the  doctrine  of  liberty,  equality,  and 
fraternity  brought  to  the  cradle.  It  requires  that  all 
questions  of  parental  duty,  domestic  as  well  as  eccle- 
siastical, be  discussed  in  the  nursery,  subject  to  a 
popular  vote,  and  the  counting  of  all  hands,  how- 
ever small.  As  well  object  to  the  establishment  of 
social  or  educational  or  pecuniary  relations  for  the 
child ;  for  religious  relations  cannot  stand  alone  lia- 
ble to  the  objection.  The  baptismal  covenant  does 
not  recognize  the  child  as  a  party  to  it  so  much  as 
the  subject  of  it ;  and  it  binds  the  parent,  and  with 
the  parent  the  whole  Cliurch  is  bound,  to  insure,  as 
far  as  possible,  for  that  child  a  pre-arranged  and  de- 
scribed character.  The  rejection  of  this  principle  is 
the  dissolution  of  the  family  as  a  spiritual  unit,  into 
bald,  isolated  individualism.  Family  life  as  an  or- 
ganized, disciplinary,  educating  power,  propagating 
its  spiritual  offspring  by  elements  and  laws  within 
itself,  and  holding  itself  over  and  along  from  age 
to  age,  through  Lois  and  Eunice  and  Timothy,  is 
ignored. 

On  this  theory  of  independency  and  individualism, 
a  "  church "  is  constructed.  It  is  based  on  single 
adult  persons,  not  families ;  on  "  thee,"  and  not  on 


THE  RELATIONS  OF  BAPTIZED   CHILDREN.      201 

**  thee  and  thy  seed."  Additions  are  made  to  it  by 
one  and  one,  with  no  spiritual  pedigree  of  antece- 
dents or  consequences.  It  is  simply  club-merabership, 
with  no  recognition  of  parentage  or  posterity.  Be- 
tween such  a  body,  and  the  Church  of  God,  there  is 
all  tlie  difference,  and  utility  too,  that  there  is  be- 
tween a  heap  of  separate  links  and  those  same  links 
interlocked  into  a  chain.  True,  interlocking  them 
infringes  on  their  separate,  inoperative  existence ; 
but  it  makes  the  chain  of  gracious  forces  with  which 
God  is  girding  the  world. 

We  must,  however,  be  looking  to  conclusions 
touching  the  relations  of  the  baptized  child  to  the 
Church.     The  points  attained  may  be  stated :  — 

1.  The  family  is  a  divine  unit.  This  is  true  of  its 
natural  constitution,  development,  and  obligations  to 
surrounding^  families.  Until  the  children  come  to 
years  of  assent  and  dissent,  the  individualisms  and 
independencies  in  the  family  are  not  as  separate  and 
marked  as  the  persons.  In  the  social,  mental,  moral, 
and  religious  life,  the  aliment,  nurture,  and  growth 
are  one.  Life  in  these  respects,  in  the  family,  is  one 
stream  flowing  from  a  parental  fountain,  with  as  many 
undivided  interests  in  it  as  the  house  has  members. 
This  family  unit  has  forces,  a  constitution,  laws,  and 
methods,  within  itself,  making  it  self-propagating  and 
perpetuating,  as  a  moral  organism,  like  the  fruit-tree  of 
creation,  '*  whose  seed  is  in  itself;"  allowance  always 
being  gratefully  made  for  the  buddings  and  graftings 
of  grace.  So  in  the  family,  Jeroboam  the  son  of 
Nebat,  and  Timothy  the  son  of  Eunice,  are  legiti- 
mate children.     The  ethics  and   the   theology  of  all 


292  THE  CHURCH  AND  HER  CHH^DREN. 

this  are  well  compacted  into  the  homely  proverb, 
"  A  chip  of  the  old  block."  Hence  society  holds  the 
neighbor,  and  the  state  the  parent,  responsible  for 
his  unadult  children. 

2.  The  Church  is  founded  on  such  family  units. 
In  struggles  for  control,  wise  men  gain  possession,  if 
possible,  of  organized  centres  of  force,  and  the 
sources  of  power.  The  conquering  general  strikes 
for  the  cities,  the  fields  of  supply,  and  the  leading 
fortifications.  With  their  possession,  all  subordinate 
points  come  also.  Treason  tampers  with  head  men, 
where,  in  the  fall  of  one,  a  thousand  fall ;  and  he 
who  is  wiser  than  the  legislator  gains  control  of  the 
teacher  and  text-book  of  the  schoolroom.  The  last 
and  weakest  and  un wisest  power  is  the  power  that 
individualizes  personally.  It  is  too  near  the  atomic 
to  become  constructive  and  comprehensive  and  mo- 
nopolizing. But  the  power  that  individualizes  by 
proxy,  through  control  of  generic  centres,  is  greatest 
and  wisest.  It  the  nearest  approximates  monarchy, 
for  good  or  ill.  This  principle  is  divinely  utilized  in 
the  use  of  family  units  for  the  founding  and  increas- 
ing of  the  Church.  A  system  of  social,  moral,  and 
religious  machinery,  already  constructed  and  run- 
ning, and  ever  to  run,  embodying  the  only  illus- 
tration obtainable  of  perpetual  motion,  God  has 
appropriated  for  the  human  force  in  that  spiritual 
organism  which  is  to  conquer  totally,  and  work 
alway,  the  gates  of  hell  never  prevailing. 

3.  Gentile  additions  to  the  ancient  Church  were 
made  by  family  units.  What  God  said  to  Abraham 
at  the  foimding,  each  of  his  successors  said  to  each 


THE  EELATIONS   OF  BAPTIZED   CHILDREIT.       293 

Gentile  coming  into  the  Church,  — "  thou  and  thy 
seed."  During  all  the  nineteen  slow  centuries  before 
Christ,  no  jot  or  tittle  of  this  law  failed  under  the  Jew- 
ish dispensation  of  the  Church.  The  Gentile  prose- 
lytes came  in  by  families,  so  far  as  the  children  were 
under  the  "  year  of  assent,"  as  the  Jews  phrased  it. 
And  in  the  fulfilling  of  those  many  prophecies  concern- 
ing the  enlargement  of  the  Church  by  the  ingathering 
of  the  Gentiles,  thousands  of  proselyte  families  came 
in  on  the  faith  and  confession  of  the  parents.  "  For 
so  was  the  custom  of  the  Jewish  nation  in  their  use 
of  baptism,  when  a  proselyte  came  in,  his  children 
were  baptized  with  him ;  and  all  this  upon  this 
ground,  that  all  that  were  related  to  the  parent 
might  come  into  covenant."  Lightfoot  makes  this 
statement  on  the  Jewish  rule,  as  thus  recorded  in  the 
Talmud :  "  Any  male  child  of  a  proselyte,  that  is 
under  thirteen  years  and  a  day,  and  any  female  child 
that  is  under  twelve  years  and  a  day,  must  be  bap- 
ti^zed."  1 

4.  The  growth  of  the  Church  in  the  apostolic  age 
was  by  such  units.  It  was  the  household  of  Lydia, 
and  of  the  jailer,  and  of  Stephanas,  which  was  added 
to  the  Church  by  the  baptism  of  St.  Paul.  As  the 
practice  of  household  admission  prevailed  before  the 
Christian  dispensation,  and  up  to  that  time,  and  as 
the  New  Testament  shows  cases  of  it,  and  nothing 
to  the  contrary,  it  may  be  presumed  to  have  prevailed 
through  the  teaching  and  times  of  the  apostles. 

5.  This  increase  of  the  Church  by  family  units 
has  been  a  marked  feature  in  its  growth  from  apos- 

1  See  cbap.  xi. 


294  THE  CHURCH  AND   HER   CHILDREN. 

tolic  times  to  very  late  centuries.  The  historic  con- 
tinuity of  this  usage  shows  in  bold  outline  through 
all  the  branches  and  schisms  of  the  Churcli,  ortlio- 
dox  and  heterodox.  Taking  into  account  the  thirty- 
seven  centuries  of  God's  one  Church,  the  opposite  is 
as  a  novelty  of  a  few  years,  while  its  extent  is  as 
limited  as  its  years. 

It  is,  of  course,  understood,  that  from  time  without 
date,  even  back  into  apostolic  days,  baptism  has 
admitted  to  the  Church.  While  prior  to  that,  in 
the  Jewish  period,  baptism  constituted  the  prose- 
lyte a  member  of  the  commonwealth  only,  like  nat- 
uralization papers  with  us,  yet  it  was  only  preparatory 
to  the  invariable  consequents  of  circumcision  and  a 
sacrifice,  that  constituted  the  subject  a  Church  mem- 
ber. With  the  female  proselyte,  the  sacrifice  con- 
summated the  relations  to  the  Church. 

In  the  Christian  era,  the  earliest  Church  records 
show  that  baptism  constituted  Church  membership 
without  regard  to  age.  The  immaturity  of  the  mem- 
ber, and  inability  to  understand  and  embrace  it,  in 
no  way  destroyed  the  fact  that  tlie  baptized  infant 
had  obtained  complete  membership  by  baptism.  As 
soon  as  the  rite  was  finished,  the  subject  received  the 
eucharist.  This  was  the  to  xilsiov,  the  ritual  perfect- 
ing of  membership.  Not  only  the  adult,  but  the 
infant,  received  it  immediately  after  baptism. 

The  fathers  are  clear  and  full  on  this  point.  In 
his  treatise  concerning  the  apostates,  Cyprian  (A.D. 
244-258)  makes  some  of  the  children  whose  parents 
fell  away  under  persecution  speak  thus :  "  We  did 
nothino: :  we  did  not  of  our  own  accord  forsake  the 


THE  RELATIONS   OF   BAPTIZED   CHILDREN.       295 

bread  and  cup  of  the  Lord  for  profane  rites.  The 
neglect  of  others  ruined  us  :  our  parents  destroyed 
us.  They  deprived  us  of  the  Church  as  a  mother, 
and  of  God  as  a  father."  Here  Cyprian  refers  to  tlie 
fact  that  the  parents  aposttitized,  and  went  to  hea- 
then altars  to  sacrifice,  carrying  their  baptized  infants 
with  tiiem.2 

Augustine  frequently  and  variously  makes  the 
same  point  and  proof  of  full  infant  membership. 
"  We  do  not  hear  the  Lord  saying  this  concerning 
the  sacrament  of  baptism,  but  concerning  the  sacra- 
ment of  the  holy  supper  itself,  which  none  but  the 
baptized  may  approach :  Unless  ye  eat  my  flesh,  &c. 
Dare  any  one  say  that  this  teaching  does  not  pertain 
to  little  children,  and  that  they  can  have  eternal  life 
without  partaking  of  his  body  and  blood?  "  ^ 

Gennadiiis,  a  presbyter  of  Marseilles,  who  flour- 
ished A.D.  495,  speaking  of  the  baptized,  says,  "  If 
they  are  infants,  let  those  who  bring  them  respond  for 
them  after  tlie  manner  of  baptism  ;  and,  being  con- 
firmed by  the  imposition  of  hands  and  the  anointing, 

2  "  Infantes  qnoque,  parentnni  nmnihus  vel  inipositi  vel  attracti, 
amisenint  parvuli  quod  in  piimo  statiiii  nativitatis  exordio  fnerant 
consecuti.  Nonne  illi,  cum  jiulicii  dies  venerit,  dicent  :  nos  niliil 
fecimus,  nee,  derelii-to  ciho  et  poc.ulo  Domini,  ad  profaua  contaiLria 
sponte  properavimus  Perdidit  nos  aliena  peilidia  ;  pareutes  sensi- 
mus  pariicidas."  — Cyp.,  I)e  Lapsis,  §  i). 

3  ''An  vero  quisqiiam  etiani  hoc  dicere  audehit,  qnod  ad  parvulos 
ha^c  sententia  non  pertineat,  possintqne  sine  participatione  <;orporis 
biijus  et  sauK'iinis  in  se  haJ)ere  vitam?  '"  — Aug.,  de  Peccator.  Merit , 
Lib.  1,  Cap.  XX. 

Also,  "  Infantes  sunt,  sed  membra  ejus  liunt.  Infantes  sunt,  sed 
sa<"ramenta  ejus  accipiunt.  Infantes  sunt,  sed  mensa'.  ejus  parti<-ipe3 
fiunt,  ut  ha>)eant  in  se  vitam."  —  Aug.,  Serm.  clxxiv.  §7,  ed.  Paris, 
1837;  or  Serui.  vili.,  De  Verbis  Apostoli. 


296  THE  CHUBCH  AND   HER   CHTLDREN". 

let  them  be  admitted  to  the  mysteries  of  the  encha- 
rist."  4 

It  were  needless  to  add  more  quotations,  though 
they  could  be  much  multiplied.  As  it  is  evident  that 
the  Church  baptized,  from  the  earliest  Christian  ages, 
the  chiklren  of  her  members,  it  is  alike  evident,  that, 
for  six  or  eight  centuries  from  Cyprian,  she  gave  to 
those  children  the  communion  of  the  Supper.  This 
privilege  is  the  highest  evidence  of  complete  and 
total  membership  in  the  Church. 

Of  the  error  of  the  fathers  in  this  matter  of  infant 
communion,  from  which  the  Catholic  Church  re- 
covered in  the  ninth  century  and  later,  it  is  not  need- 
ful to  speak.  It  has  been  cited  only  as  evidence  of 
infant  church-membership.  The  line  of  inquiry  does 
not  lead  us  to  point  out  and  criticise  the  abuses  of 
that  divine  relationship. 

It  is  in  evidence,  therefore,  that  in  the  Abrahamic 
constitution  of  the  Church,  in  Gentile  proselytism  to 
it,  in  apostolic  additions,  and  in  its  increase  under  the 
fathers  down  to  ver}^  late  yeai*s,  the  children  of 
believers  have  been  brought  into  membership.  Con- 
sidering the  question  scripturally,  historically,  and 
logically,  we  find  the  baptized  child  in  the  Church. 

*"Si  parvTili  sint,  respondeant  pro  illis  qui  eos  offerunt,  jnxta 
inorem  baptizandi,  et  sic  manus  inipositione  et  chrismate  coni- 
muniti,  eucharistje  mysteriis  adniittantur."  — Gennad.,D€  Dogmat., 
Eccles.  Cap.  52. 


CHAPTER  XXXVl. 

THE     POSITION     OF     BAPTIZED     CHILDREN     IN     THE 
CHURCH. 


M 


"AY  full  privileges  be  had  without  any  other  or 
_  -  more  formal  recognition  ?  Are  they  to  come 
to  the  communion  ?  Are  they  liable  to  discipline  ? 
May  they  take  part  in  the  government  of  the  Church  ? 
Are  evidences  of  regeneration  indispensable  to  the 
completion  of  all  the  rights  of  membership  ?  Fail- 
ing in  these  evidences,  may  they  be  excommuni- 
cated ?  These  are  not  unnatural  questions  from  a 
candid  inquirer,  whose  views  on  the  subject  are  yet 
unsettled. 

It  is  pertinent  here  to  assume  and  declare  that 
baptism,  in  and  of  itself,  has  no  efficacy.  It  is  no 
rite  in  spiritual  magic,  to  work  a  radical  moral 
change  in  the  subject.  The  touch  of  baptismal  fin- 
gers is  not  ictic  and  efficacious  for  any  such  result, 
according  to  the  figment  of  the  highest  ritualist.  It 
is  only  the  signature  to  a  promissory  compact.  It  is 
as  the  signing  of  the  papers  for  the  construction  of  a 
continental  railway.  The  signing  does  no  work  on 
the  road  :  it  only  pledges  competent  parties  to  see 
the  work  done. 

1.  It  is  to  be  noted  primarily  and  prominently  that 

31*  21)7 


298  THE   CHURCH   AND   HER   CHILDREN. 

the  position  of  this  child  is  divinely  arranged.  The 
organism  and  workings  of  an  institution,  that  has 
done  more  than  any  other  to  mould  and  control  this 
world,  have  brought  the  child  into  that  position. 
God  shaped  that  institution  to  do  that  thing ;  and  the 
child  is  now,  by  baptism,  in  the  place  and  surround- 
ings of  God's  intention. 

2.  Moreover,  the  propagating  power  of  grace  is 
recognized  and  utilized  in  this  position.  Whatever 
forces  there  may  be  presumed  to  be  in  parental  and 
famil}^  and  church  piety,  they  are  concentrated  at  the 
very  point  where  God  has  placed  the  child.  It  is 
in  the  very  focus  of  religious  warmth  and  power. 
Allow  what  we  may  or  must  for  imperfections  and 
infelicities  within  church  relations,  there  are  as  few 
in  no  other  earthly  circle.  There  this  child,  uncon- 
scious, slowly  coming  into  a  mental  and  moral  life, 
its  infancy  the  best  symbol  of  weakness,  impressible, 
plastic,  impotent,  is  placed  to  be  moulded  and  nur- 
tured into  a  child  of  God.  It  is  placed  helpless  in 
the  strongest  current  of  grace  that  flows  across  this 
earth,  to  be  swept  heavenward.  The  place  is  excep- 
tional by  just  so  much  as  the  Church  differs  from  the 
outside  world  in  power  to  train  religiously.  The 
rite  locating  the  child  thus  is  no  aesthetic  ceremony 
merely,  of  which  the  best  and  most  has  been  said 
when  it  is  called  "  touching  "  and  "  beautiful." 

3.  God -expects  to  do  much  fortius  child  in  par- 
ticular. The  converging  of  his  plans  at  this  point 
silently  enunciates  this  expectation.  All  the  divine 
antecedents  are  as  preparations  ;  and  tlie  constitution 
of  his  Church  has  from  the  beginning  contemplated 


THE   POSITION   OF    BAPTIZED   CHILDREN.        299 

and  anticipated  tliat  child  at  that  formative  period. 
Then,  his  covenant  with  the  parent  enables  him  to 
do  more  and  better  for  that  child  than  he  can  for  an 
outside  child.  With  him,  as  with  man,  S3^stem  and 
plan  are  moral  insurance  toward  success.  These 
infant  members  of  the  Church  are  his  primary  scliool 
in  which  he  has  arranged  a  foreordaining  drill  for  all 
the  mortal  years  of  these  children.  When  it  is  con- 
sidered how  seldom  a  Jew  or  a  Papist  becomes  a 
pervert,  we  see  how  effectually  this  divine  plan  may 
be  used,  even  when  alienated  to  purposes  so  ceremo- 
nial and  unspiritual.  Much  more,  when  so  used  for 
spiritual  ends  as  to  retain  the  divine  co-operation,  and 
the  moral  and  religious  elements  are  stimulated  and 
subsidized,  must  it  become  a  primal  force  in  the 
regeneration  of  the  race. 

4.  If  received  and  cared  for  by  the  Church  in  the 
spirit  of  this  plan,  the  child  is  baptized  into  a  reason- 
able expectation  of  regeneration  and  heaven.  Cer- 
tainly no  earthly  surroundings  could  be  more  favorable 
were  the  end  an  ambitious  worldly  one.  The  condi- 
tion is  highly  hopeful  for  early  piety  ;  and  with  any 
due  regard  for  the  covenant,  and  for  the  filling  of  the 
obligations  on  the  human  side,  the  conversion  of  the 
child  may  be  confidently  expected.  Indeed,  these 
"little  ones  "  are  to  be  held  tenderly  and  prayerfully 
and  workfully  in  the  hands  of  the  Church,  as  pre- 
sumptive communicants.  Any  thing  less  than  this 
has  dark  shadings  toward  lack  of  faith  as  a  con- 
tractor, and  lack  of  work,  and  so  breach  of  contract. 
At  this  very  point  it  is,  where  the  human  party  has  so 
often   failed   to  carry  out  its  agreement,  and  so  the 


300     THE  CHURCH  AND  HER  CHILDREN. 

divine  and  perfect  plan  has  been  brought  under 
reproach.  The  child  has  been  baptized,  perhaps 
ostentatiously  and  under  admiration,  and  then  let 
alone  ecclesiastically.  Of  course  in  such  cases  infant 
baptism  is  a  nullity,  and  comes  under  sectarian  or 
worldly  reproach.  So,  to  speak  to  a  business  ear, 
the  contract  is  signed  with  publicity,  and  then  not 
really  thrown  up,  but  thrown  aside.  This  is  as  if 
the  pen  that  signed  the  Emancipation  Proclamation 
were  to  be  sacredly  treasured,  and  the  four  millions 
of  the  document  left  to  neglect  and  forgetfulness. 
The  sign  manual  of  the  United  States  is  of  little 
account  to  them,  if  that  is  the  end  of  it. 

5.  The  Church  should  entertain  thoroughly  the 
fact  of  infant  membership.  If  one  find  it  difficult  to 
accept  this  position,  it  is  well  that  he  inquire  whether 
his  difficulties  are  grounded  in  the  Bible,  or  in  some 
book  more  recently  written  and  published.  We 
come  unconsciously  under  traditions  and  usages  that 
make  void  divine  arrangements.  It  may  be  so  in  this 
case.  With  all  reasonable  latitude  conceded  for 
denominations  on  questions  of  polity,  it  must  be 
understood,  that,  in  the  two  fundamentals  of  the 
Church,  —  creed  and  membership,  —  its  type  must 
everywhere  be  one  ;  for  those  two  features  are  prime- 
val, organic,  and  divine.  No  by-laws  of  the  village 
"  church,"  or  sectarian  hand-book,  or  Bibliotheque 
Royale,  may  derange  what  the  one  Church  Manual 
of  God  has  arranged  on  these  two  points. 


CHAPTER   XXXVII. 

THE  NEGLECT  OF  BAPTIZED  CPIILDREN  BY  THE 
CHURCH. 

BUT  one  finds  a  difficulty  in  treating  a  child  as  a 
clmrch  member,  because  it  cannot  share  all  the 
privileges  and  responsibilities  of  membership.  Is  the 
objection  well  made  ?  That  child  has  full  family 
membership.  It  has  also  full  national  membership. 
Let  it  but  lay  claim  in  Austria  to  American  citizen- 
ship, and  the  entire  force  of  the  United  States  will 
back  the  claim,  "  by  the  utmost  exertion  of  the 
power  of  the  republic,  military  and  naval."  ^  The 
freshman  has  full  membership  in  the  college,  but  not 
therefore  the  privileges  in  full  of  the  senior.  Does 
not  the  objection  in  question  lie  broadly  against  child- 
hood as  undistinguished  from  manhood  ?  Member- 
ship for  the  child  in  the  family  and  in  the  state  is 
both  instant  and  total  in  the  outset.  It  is  an  end, 
accomplished  at  the  beginning.  Why  may  it  not  be 
so  in  the  Church  under  its  present  constitution  ? 
When  his  father  had  said,  "  His  name  is  John,"  and 
the  infant  had  been  circumcised,  John  the  Baptist 
had  membership  in  full  in  the  Church  of  God.  Cere- 
monials afterward  enlarged  only  his  privileges.    Mem- 

1  \Vel)Ster's  Hiilseman  Correspondence,  Works,  vi.  r>01. 
26  301 


302  THE   CHURCH  AND   HER   CHH^DREN. 

bership  in  the  Church,  as  in  the  family  and  in  the 
state,  lias  not  growth. 

The  difficulty  under  consideration  arises  frtin  a 
failure  to  separate  between  membership,  and  the 
privileges  and  rights  and  duties  of  membership. 
The  former  is  an  act  instant,  complete,  and  final ; 
the  latter,  a  matter  of  age,  growth,  and  suscepti- 
bility. The  minor  is  a  citizen  ;  but  he  cannot  vote, 
and  is  not  liable  to  military  duty  till  of  a  certain  age. 
The  female  is  a  citizen,  but  is  not  liable  to  bear  arms, 
and  does  not  vote  at  any  age.  The  child  of  four 
years  finds  his  duties  and  privileges  in  the  family 
very  different  from  those  of  his  brother  of  sixteen 
years  ;  yet  the  membership  is  equal.  Suppose  some 
sect  in  the  state,  Utopian  and  radical,  should  object 
to  the  theory  and  practice  of  infant  citizenship,  on 
the  points  that  the  infant  cannot  be  a  conscious  party 
to  an  arrangement  that  makes  it  a  subject  of  the 
government ;  cannot  come  to  the  polls  with  its  oldest 
brother  and  father  ;  cannot  be  drafted  into  the  army  ; 
cannot  be  eligible  to  office,  and  so  on  and  on.  It 
will  be  noted  that  the  objections  are  against  being  an 
infant.  Infant  citizenship  remains  as  a  profound 
reality  for  the  unconscious  babe  ;  and  the  state  makes 
it  an  intensely  practical  fact  for  the  child,  in  all  that 
pertains  to  "  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happi- 
ness "  commensurate  with  the  years  of  the  child. 

It  is  seen  at  a  glance,  that  the  objection  now  under 
consideration,  if  well  taken  and  sustained,  reaches 
beyond  the  Church,  and  unsettles  relations  and  mem- 
berships of  childhood  that  long  since  passed  into  civil 
and  social  axioms. 


NEGLECT   OF   BAPTIZED   CHILDREN.  803 

But  another  difficulty  arises.  If  infant  church- 
membership  be  conceded,  one  finds  impediments  and 
inconveniences  in  treating  "  these  little  ones  "  as  the 
children  of  the  Church,  and  in  bringing  them  up  in 
the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord.  Very  like. 
Obedience  to  God  is  usually  attended  with  impedi- 
ments. The  Decalogue,  and  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount, 
when  brought  to  practice,  have  been  always  found 
open  to  the  same  objection.  The  proper  training  of 
children  is  not  a  total  luxury ;  and,  indeed,  some  do 
regard  them  as  incumbrances. 

It  can  be  readily  seen,  that  the  easy,  comfortable 
theory  of  adult  membership  would  need  reconstruct- 
incT  for  a  vast  amount  of  Church  Avork  now  left 
undone,  if  the  children  of  believers  were  to  consti- 
tute the  juvenile  school  of  the  Church. 

In  modifying  the  theory  and  practice  of  Church 
work  in  the  line  indicated,  there  must  come  in  a  sys- 
tematic labor  for  the  young.  When  it  is  considered, 
that  about  one-half  the  community  are  minors,  and 
are  in  the  formative  period  for  character,  and  that 
afterward  moral  teaching  and  influences  avail  mostly 
for  confirmation,  and  but  lightly  for  reversal  in  radi- 
cal changes  for  good  or  evil,  is  it  asking  too  much 
that  one-half  the  moral  and  religious  teaching  of  the 
Church  be  in  the  interests  of  the  young  ? 

Yet,  as  it  now  is,  how  rare  the  Church  service,  in 
prayers  iind  teachings,  that  is  adapted  to  interest  and 
benefit  children !  The  ornate  essays,  doctrinal  and 
philosophical  and  controversial  discussions,  and  the 
seminary  sermons,  all  courteously  called  preaching, 
find  but  poor  reception   and  response  with  a  large 


804  THE   CHURCH  AND   HER  CHILDREN. 

portion  of  the  adults.  If  the  hungry  slieep  look  up 
unfed,  how  must  it  be  with  the  lambs  ?  And,  when 
the  shepherd  does  propose  to  feed  the  lambs,  how  the 
sheep  flock  about  him  ! 

It  has  been  suggested  that  a  fourth  year  be  added 
to  the  present  theological  course  in  our  seminaries. 
Instead  of  giving  it  to  philology,  ontology,  neology, 
and  Egyptology,  suppose  it  be  devoted  to  a  de- 
partment of  Juvenile  Theology,  with  the  homiletic 
and  pastoral  as  subdivisions.  Such  a  man  as  was 
once  the  eminent  rhetorical  professor  in  one  of  our 
Eastern  seminaries  should  not  be  a  candidate  for  the 
new  chair.  When  about  to  preach,  on  notice,  to  a 
New-York  congregation  of  children,  he  began  by 
saying,  "  When  I  am  through,  I  shall  want  you,  my 
dear  children,  to  give  me  an  abstract  of  the  discourse. 
You  know  what  abstract  means  ?  It  is  synonymous 
with  synopsis."  If  Hannah,  when  she  made  the 
"little  coat"  for  Samuel,  had  gotten  up  an  overcoat 
for  Elkanah,  she  could  not  have  gone  wider  of  the 
measure  of  the  bo}^  What  cutting  and  fitting  of 
spiritual  garments  for  children  in  our  pulpits!  What 
capacious  arm-sizes,  baggy  and  dangling  sleeves,  with 
vast  and  solemn  latitude  and  longitude  of  skirts ! 
When  the  little  fellows,  after  the  benediction,  leave 
the  church-door,  and  assay  to  go,  if  they  try  to  carry 
the  sermon  they  move  oif  staggering  like  David  in 
Saul's  armor.  It  is  all  "  synonymous  with  synopsis  " 
to  them.  If  any  thing  could  reconcile  us  to  a 
woman  in  the  pulpit,  it  would  be  that  Hannah  might 
"  from  year  to  year  "  make  a  "  little  "  coat  for  every 
consecrated  Samuel  in  the  congregation. 


NEGLECT  OF   BAPTIZED  CHILDREN.  305 

There  is  a  lamentable  failure  in  appreciating  child- 
hood as  an  age  vastly  important,  and  susceptible  of 
the  moulding  power  of  the  Church.  The  quiet,  easy 
neglect,  the  waiting  till  false  religious  notions  are 
formed,  and  sinful  propensities  and  habits  are  boldly 
marked,  is  amazing.  Yet  why  amazing,  if  baptized 
children  are  not  expected  to  receive  proper  training, 
and  become  converts  and  communicants  ?  It  is  too 
much  with  the  Church  as  with  the  state,  that 
appears  to  have  little  to  do  with  Ciiin  till  he  has 
killed  Abel. 

It  is  painfully  understood  that  the  vast  work  of 
the  state  in  her  criminal  processes  is  largely  the 
undoing  of  mistakes,  the  defence  against  evils,  and 
the  punishment  of  crimes,  that  have  their  beginnings 
fixr  back  in  a  neglected  and  abused  childhood.  It  is 
for  the  Church  to  be  made  wise  by  this  sad  fact,  and 
administer  her  divinely  assigned  work  under  the 
warning  of  it.  When  Jericho  was  blighted  and 
wretched  from  bad  water,  the  man  of  God  "  went 
forth  unto  the  spring  of  the  waters,"  and  healed 
them  at  the  fountain.  Very  like  he  did  this  great 
work  in  a  rural  district  and  in  an  obscure  place  ;  but 
that  was  better  than  purifying  some  now  and  tlien  at 
so  much  a  glass,  retail,  in  a  splendid  establishment  on 
Jericho  Park. 

Our  fine  ministerial  culture,  and  great  sermons, 
and  artistic  music,  and  beautiful  church  aroiiitecture, 
are  not  reaching  the  children.  The  safety  hydrants 
are  all  very  well,  and  silver-plated,  but  in  private 
houses.  Men  of  God  are  needed,  with  new  cruses, 
at  the  spring  of  the  waters,  to  do  wholesale  work 
for  all  Jericho.  26* ' 


306  THE   CHCTRCH  AND   HER   CHILDREN. 

When  Xavier  was  making  his  triumphal  procession 
in  the  conversion  of  Asia  to  Jesuitism,  his  labors 
were  intensely  exhausting,  and  his  hours  for  sleep  few 
and  uncertain.  Yet  he  took  his  broken  rest  under 
this  standing  order  to  his  attendant :  "  If  a  child  calls 
to  see  me,  wake  me."  The  conversion  of  lialf  a 
continent  lay  in  the  wisdom  and  spirit  of  that  order  ; 
and  three  centuries  attest  the  fidelity  and  success  of 
the  man  who  could  not  sleep  when  a  child  wished 
to  speak  to  him.  Our  ministry  needs  greater  wake- 
fulness, and  a  quicker  ear  for  the  calls  of  child- 
hood. Too  many  of  them,  it  is  to  be  feared,  are  like 
Choate,  lying  in  his  last  chamber,  and  overlooking 
the  sea  at  Halifax :  *'  If  a  schooner  or  sloop  goes  by, 
do  not  disturb  me  ;  but,  if  there  is  a  square-rigged 
vessel,  wake  me  up."^ 

But  it  is  more  than  the  pulpit,  whose  labor  is 
requisite  for  this  great  undertaking.  Some  parts,  at 
least,  of  the  artistic  interior  of  the  house  of  God, 
might  be  permeated  by  a  consecration  to  the  produc- 
tion and  manifestation  and  cultivation  of  juvenile 
piety.  What  church  architect  of  modern  time  has 
any  thought  or  provision  for  children  in  the  house  of 
God  ?  The  seating,  as  the  service,  is  on  the  adult 
grade ;  and  all  within  says,  "  This  is  for  men  and 
women."  "  It  was  a  beautiful  device  of  the  late 
Prince  Albert  of  England,  to  erect  at  Windsor  Castle, 
for  the  benefit  of  his  young  children,  a  statue  of 
J^dward  VI.  pointing  with  his  royal  sceptre  to  this 
verse  on  the  page  of  an  open  sculptured  Bible  : 
'  Josiah  was  eight  years  old  when  he  began  to  reign  ; 

2  Brown's  Life  of  Rufus  Choate,  p.  349. 


NEGLECT   OF   BAPTIZED   CHILDREN.  307 

and  he  did  that  which  was  right  in  the  sight  of  the 
Lord,  and  walked  in  all  the  ways  of  David  his 
father,  and  turned  not  aside  to  the  right  hand  or  to 
tlie  left.'  "  3  Why  is  not  something  of  this  kind  as 
much  in  keeping  with  the  house  of  worship,  and  as 
religiously  useful,  as  complex  arches,  Ionic  capitals, 
or  those  stained  windows  where  some  of  the  light 
of  heaven,  competing  with  gas,  is  indignantly  red 
unto  crimson  in  its  struggle  to  get  into  the  temple  of 
the  Most  High  ?  If  our  tens  of  thousands  must  go 
into  the  building  of  a  sanctuary,  why  not  some  of  it 
be  made  spiritually  instructive  to  children,  rather 
than  all  of  it  aesthetically  gratifying  to  adults  ?  No 
collegiate  course  should  be  run  for  seniors  only. 
Why  not  in  the  building  and  furnishing  and  serving 
of  the  house  of  God,  as  in  our  family  home,  have  a 
recosjnition  of  childhood  in  its  different  ao^es  and 
interests  and  rights  ?  Parents  should  not  build  and 
occupy  the  house  of  God  on  the  fiction  of  bachelor 
and  maiden  life.  As  the  human  race  is  an  elongated 
family,  so  the  Church  of  the  day  is  a  section  of  it, 
and  as  such  should  be  aptly  housed,  as  well  as  cul- 
tivated. 

But  what  is  needed  is  an  ecclesiastical  training  of 
the  children  of  the  Church  in  matters  of  faith  and 
practice,  corresponding  to  the  civil  training  by  the 
state  in  matters  secular.  The  whole  should  come 
into  a  system  commensurate  with  the  divine  obliga- 
tions set  forth  in  the  constitution  of  the  Church,  and 

8  Clirist's  Infant  Kinjjjdom.  By  Ilex.  J.  T.  Tucker.  Cong.  Pub. 
Society,  Boston,  1870.  P.  23.  A  small  treatise  full  of  practical 
thoughts  ou  this  subject. 


808  THE  CHURCH  AND   HER   CHILDREN. 

with  the  vast  issues  involved  in  a  proper  religious 
culture  of  the   rising  generation.     For  it  is  evident 

that  A  BETTER  HANDLING  OF  THIS  WORLD  LIES  IN 
A  BETTER  HANDLING  OF  THE  CHILDREN.  There- 
fore the  prevenient  wisdom  of  God  incorporated  the 
Church  as  both  a  nursing  and  adult  organization. 

The  fact  has  place  and  pertinence  here,  that  those 
are  the  best  systems  of  government,  and  produce  the 
highest  grades  of  civilization  in  all  pertaining  to  the 
body,  property,  and  liberty  of  the  citizen,  where 
the  state  takes  best  in  hand  the  education  of  the  chil- 
dren. On  the  other  hand,  where  the  children  are 
left,  like  the  young  in  the  lower  animal  kingdom,  to 
grow  up  uncultured  and  wild,  there  society  comes 
nearest  to  the  savage  and  brute  condition. 

The  Church,  as  the  embodiment  of  the  divine 
kingdom  in  this  world,  is  constituted  and  enjoined  to 
do  the  very  best  thing  religiously  that  the  wisest 
civil  government  does  secularly.  Have  commenta- 
tors and  Christians  yet  taken  the  full  import  of  the 
phrases,  "  kingdom  of  God,"  ''  kingdom  of  Heaven  "  ? 
Here  is  implied  a  government  having  a  constitution, 
laws,  and  a  progressive,  annexing  administration  in 
this  world.  It  has  a  divine  head,  with  a  manage- 
ment in  stewardship,  as  under  a  proxy  that  is  procon- 
sular, legatine,  or  viceroyal.  This  divine  lieutenancy 
is  vested  in  the  Church,  and,  indeed,  is  the  Church. 
It  must,  therefore,  begin  where  the  best  civil  gov- 
ernment begins  ;  and,  if  it  work  wisely,  it  will  spend 
a  large  part  of  its  training  force  on  childhood.  It 
will  be  as  wise  and  prompt  and  energetic,  as  the 
state  is  in  securing  worldly  ends.     For  ecclesiastical 


NEGLECT  OF   BAPTIZED   CHILDREN.  309 

fidelity  and  parental  fidelity  are  the  upper  and  lower 
hin<j^es  on  which  the  Church-door  swings. 

In  our  day  compulsory  education  is  the  crowning 
attainment  of  legislation  in  this  line.  The  necessary 
education  for  the  best  citizenship  is  conceived  and 
planned ;  the  number  and  ages  of  the  children  are 
tabled  ;  suitable  teachers,  buildings,  text-books,  and 
apparatus  are  made  sure  ;  and  a  tax  for  cost  is  levied 
on  the  property  of  the  community.  This  common- 
school  system  is  minute,  complex,  comprehensive,  and 
expensive  ;  and  it  has  in  it  so  much  of  power  and 
utility  and  glory,  that  in  places  it  comes  nigh  to 
being  an  idol.  So  the  adult  state  educates  the  juve- 
nile state  to  be  its  improved  successor. 

Something  correspondent  and  commensurate  should 
be  the  work  of  the  Church.  It  may  be  said  that 
this  is  done  in  our  Sabbath-school  system.  Very  true 
it  is,  that  a  vast  amount  of  Christian  work  is  accom- 
plished b}"  this  organization,  and  but  for  it  the  spir- 
itual privileges  of  the  young  would  be  deplorable. 
Yet  it  is  to  be  considered,  that,  as  a  general  thing,  it 
is  started,  controlled,  and  held  responsible  outside  of 
the  Church.  The  system  is  a  voluntary  endeavor  to 
do  what  the  Church  has  failed  to  do.  Originally  it 
aimed  to  benefit  the  poor  and  neglected,  who  had 
no  personal  or  family  connection  with  the  sanctuary. 
Here  it  found  a  legitimate  and  unoccupied  province 
for  religious  labor.  But  when,  starting  outside,  it 
assumed  the  main  spiritual  care  of  the  children  of 
the  Church,  it  usurped  a  province  ;  though  it  must  be 
said,  that  the  usurpation  was  welcomed  by  an  indo- 
lent Church,  and  an  alienation  of  office   and  work 


310  THE  CHURCH  AND  HER   CHH^DREN. 

was  allowed  by  the  Church,  that  is  totally  unconstitu- 
tional so  far  as  her  own  children  are  concerned.  An 
irresponsible  proxy  service  cannot  thus  meet  an 
organic  obligation. 

The  pleasant  and  honorable  and  profitable  relations 
of  the  Sabbath  schools  to  the  Church  are  well  illus- 
trated by  the  private-school  system  as  related  to  the 
state.  The  State  of  Massachusetts  may  well  foster 
her  Phillips  and  Bradford  and  Holyoke  schools,  and 
be  as  much  honored  as  honoring  in  the  act.  But  the 
duty  of  the  Commonwealth  to  the  masses  of  her  chil- 
dren may  not  be  thus  delegated  to  private  corpora- 
tions. 

The  Sabbath-school  system  has  grown  u]3  quite 
naturally  around  the  unprelatical  branch  of  the 
Church.  In  the  extreme  oscillation  of  the  ecclesias- 
tical pendulum  from  papacy  through  English  episco- 
pacy, it  went  over  into  bald  individualism.  Many  a 
good  rite  and  ceremony  and  system  was  left,  because 
it  stood  connected  with  an  ecclesiasticism  justly 
offensive.  The  churchly  culture  of  the  children  was 
abandoned  with  the  old  Church,  and  dropped  into 
the  family  of  the  dissenter,  and  then  it  dropped 
farther  into  the  Sabbath  school.  Some  pleasing  indi- 
cations there  are,  that  the  pendulum  inclines  to  a 
return. 

A  most  serious  objection  lies  against  this  delegation 
of  a  sacred  trust  to  train  her  children,  in  the  fact 
that  the  Church  loses  sight  of  them  as  her  children. 
She  no  longer  recognizes  them  as  the  baptized.  The 
baptismal  act  is  ignored  in  their  education  by  proxy, 
and  the  seal  of  the  covenant  is  covered  and  forgot- 


NEGLECT   OF   BAPTIZED  CHILDREN.  311 

ten  in  the  miscellany  of  the  schoolroom  ;  albeit  the 
infant  robes  of  the  occasion  may  be  carefully  honored 
in  their  preservation  as  they  were  in  their  prepara- 
tion and  use.  The  school  itself  can  make  no  distinc- 
tion ;  and  so  it  comes  to  pass,  that,  from  the  day  of 
the  baptism  of  the  child,  the  act  is  fading  away  into 
forgetfuluess.  The  baptized  and  the  unbaptized,  in 
the  Church  and  out  of  it,  are  treated  with  an  undis- 
criminating  sameness.  If  this  neglect,  now  so  habit- 
ual, is  to  be  regarded  as  normal,  and  the  "  beautiful 
ceremony  "  is  to  be. the  end  of  interest  and  respon- 
sibility, it  becomes  a  difficult  thing,  not  to  say 
imi)0ssible,  to  show  any  divine  authority,  utility,  or 
responsibility  in  the  rite. 

The  question  is  frequently  raised.  Why  is  infant 
baptism  so  much  neglected?  The  answer  is  easy, 
and  in  this  connection  pertinent, —  Because  baptized 
children  are  so  much  neglected.  In  the  failure  to 
keep  up  a  recognition  of  them,  or  show  any  discrim- 
inating interest  in  them,  the  ceremony  appears  as  a 
pleasant  nullity.  The  three  parties  to  the  act,  the 
j)arental,  ecclesiastical,  and  divine,  so  far  as  after- 
work  is  concerned,  seem  to  be  hypothetic.  Their 
relations  to  the  child,  as  baptized,  do  not  show  con- 
tinuance ;  and  their  act  appears  to  be  one  without 
practical  consequences.  Therefore  the  Christian  of 
average  practical  sense  neglects  to  keep  up  a  cause 
that  has  no  intended  and  elaborated  effects.  So  far 
as  the  ceremony  claims  to  be  a  covenant  or  contract, 
it  seems  to  him  like  signing  papers  for  the  waste- 
basket,  and  he  declines  to  sign. 

It   would  be   quite    otherwise   if   the   Protestant 


312  THE  CHURCH  AND   HER   CHILDREN. 

Church  held  the  theory  of  the  Papal  and  Greek,  that 
baj^tism  properly  administered  is  invariably  accom- 
panied by  spiritual  regeneration,  and  is  the  procuring 
cause  of  it.  But  Protestantism  holds  to  no  such 
ceremonial  salvation.  Baptism  with  us  is  no  opus 
operatum^  an  act  of  inherent,  regenerating  efiicienc}^, 
a  signature  that  pays  a  note  instead  of  promising  to 
pay.  And  it  will  be  only  simple  justice  to  the 
Psedobaptist  theory,  and  creditable  to  candor,  that 
those  rejecting  it  accept  this  emphatic  declaration. 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

WHAT   CAN  THE  CHURCH  DO  FOR   HER  CHILDREN? 

"XTXHAT  can  be  done  by  the  Church  iii  her  offices, 
V  V  on  a  plan,  specifically  and  continuously,  for 
the  children  of  the  Church?  Reserving  the  principal 
outline  of  labor  to  be  unfolded  in  a  separate  chapter, 
tlie  question  may  be  answered  now,  subordinately, 
in  three  particulars. 

1.  The  Church  may  provide  that  her  leading  ser- 
vant bestow  proportional  labor  on  the  children  in  his 
congregational  services.  In  proportion  to  their  num- 
ber, the  public  exercises  of  the  sanctuary  should  be 
made  to  come  down  into  the  range  of  their  under- 
standing and  improvement.  Indeed,  for  the  highest 
benefit  of  all,  it  might  be  well  for  the  preacher  usu- 
ally to  strike  for  this.  For  the  gospel  is  a  system  of  re- 
ligious truth  for  a,ll,  and  its  presentation  should  strike 
below,  rather  than  above,  the  average  multitude. 
Tliat  can  be  only  a  fractional  gospel  sermon,  and 
therefore  should  be  very  occasional,  whose  scholas- 
tic and  philosophic  thought  only  a  few  can  compre- 
hend ;  and  it  is  an  abuse  of  the  pulpit  as  a  divine 
structure,  to  devote  it,  except  on  special  occasions, 
to  the  latest,  and  therefore  most  dubious  and  ab- 
struse, ethical  ideas  of  the  age.     It  is  not  its  calling 

27  313 


314  THE  CHURCH  AND   HER   CHH.DREN. 

to  keep  abreast,  in  its  ordinary  and  popular  min- 
istrations, of  all  philosophical  and  profound  schol- 
arship, even  on  questions  related  to  natural  and 
revealed  religion.  Rather  should  it  keep  the  leading 
ideas  of  Paul  and  John  and  David  and  the  Lord 
Jesus,  side  by  side  with  the  thronging  and  unlettered 
multitude.  "  The  common  people  heard  Him  gladly." 
Christian  scholarship  has  its  place,  and  none  more 
honorable,  important,  or  exacting  of  labor ;  but  it  is 
not  the  pulpit.  That  is  the  platform  for  the  populace, 
where  men,  women,  and  children  may  be  taught  how 
to  glorify  God,  and  enjoy  him  forever.  Abstruse 
learning,  even  on  practical  themes,  can  find  other 
and  more  serviceable  methods  of  utterance.  How- 
ever much  a  teacher  may  know,  he  ought  not  to 
obtrude  logarithms  and  the  Mecanique  Celeste  into 
the  common  school.  Ten  years  of  monastic  Ufe, 
Avith  books  and  professors,  may  well  be  suspected  of 
a  range  of  topics  and  discussions  more  learned  than 
l)rofitable  ;  and  the  cultured  few,  and  the  society,  as 
distinguished  from  the  Church,  are  more  likely  to 
stimulate  than  to  check  and  turn  this  drift  of  ele- 
vated thought.  The  New-England  pulpit,  especially, 
has  taken  a  pride  in  its  intellectual  character,  the 
religious  and  spiritual  results  of  which  are  yet  un- 
declared. The  jury  are  out,  and  the  verdict  will  not 
come  in  for  a  generation  or  two. 

'With  this  patronizing  of  sermons  called  "great," 
"able,"  and  "magnificent,"  and  with  ministerial 
struggles,  if  not  successes,  in  this  line,  the  Church 
will  see  the  need  of  claiming  a  proportionate  labor 
of  the  pulpit  for  the  young.     As  it  is,  probably  not 


WHAT   C^VN  THE   CHURCH  DO?  315 

one  sermon  in  ten  is  intelligible,  and  adapted  to  this 
half  the  congregation.  The  learned  Peter  is  busy 
with  his  sheep,  and  finds  slight  arrangements  or  con- 
veniences in  the  fold  for  the  lambs. 

2.  The  unseemly  exclusion  of  the  children  from 
the  congregation  may  be  avoided.  We  have  already 
noticed  that  the  human  reconstruction  of  the  Church, 
in  her  creed,  forms  of  admission,  instruction,  and 
general  characteristics,  indicates  an  organization  for 
adults.  Her  Sabbath  congregations  are  assuming 
more  and  more  this  character  of  cliildless  assemblies. 
The  children  are  largely  absentees.  The  uncomfort- 
able sittings  for  children,  the  expensive  rentals,  and 
the  adult  and  scholarly  exercises  of  the  pulpit,  ex- 
plain their  absence.  A  crowded,  joyous,  and  well- 
administered  Sabbath-school  comes  often  in  suggest- 
ive contrast  with  deserted  pews,  on  the  same  day  and 
under  the  same  roof.  Such  facts  are  making  the 
grade  easier  from  two  sermons  a  day  to  one ;  and 
possibly,  by  and  b}^,  the  superintendents  may  be 
graduates  of  some  preparatory  school,  and  compete 
with  the  pastors  for  the  larger  congregation  in  their 
half  of  the  day.  If  that  time  come,  we  may  expect 
to  see  the  worshipping  congregation  restored  to  its 
normal  condition,  as  composed  of  men,  women,  and 
children. 

3.  There  may  be  some  public  recognition  of  the 
divine  classification  of  the  children.  Adult  church- 
members  are  distinguished,  and  in  various  ways,  from 
the  rest  of  the  congregation.  Friendship  for  God, 
the  utility  of  church-membership,  and  the  benefits 
generally  arising   from    church  organization,  requiie 


316  THE  CHUECH  AND   HER   CHILDREN. 

this  distinction.  Yet  there  is  nothing  correspondent 
concerning  baptized  children.  With  the  exception 
of  occasional  memorial  words  on  baptismal  days,  at 
the  communion  table,  or  preparatory  service  for  it, 
their  baptism  fades  from  public  recognition  with  the 
public  view.  In  the  medley  of  childhood  life  they 
are  as  other  children  ;  and  very  early  it  comes  to 
pass,  that  only  the  church  record  and  parental  memo- 
ries can  tell  who  they  are.  Sometimes  the  record  is 
a  blank ;  and,  in  our  brief  pastorates,  the  shepherd 
who  carried  the  lamb  is  often  a  man  of  to-day,  — 

"  To-morrow  to  fresh  woods,  and  pastures  new." 

The  ignoring  of  a  divine  classification  makes  the 
ordinance  as  an  act  without  a  consequence,  a  mere 
semblance,  that  disappears  with  the  shadow  of  the 
baptismal  pageant  as  it  goes  down  the  aisle.  Infant 
baptism  must  show  its  significance,  and  gain  its  ofi'ered 
advantages,  by  a  care  of  the  baptized  separately  and 
as  such.  For  their  condition  is  foreign  to  that  of  all 
other  children,  and  calls  for  treatment  on  a  divine 
method,  "  in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the 
Lord." 

Something  would  be  gained  in  this  direction  if  the 
baptized  children  who  are  old  enough  to  receive 
public  instruction,  and  partake  in  public  Avorship, 
should  attend  the  preparatory  lecture.  As  members 
of  the  church,  and  prospective  communicants,  the 
service  could  be  adapted  to  them  without  detracting 
from  its  interest  and  usefulness  for  the  adults.  Thus 
a  livel}^  and  constant  impression  would  be  made  on 


WHAT  CAN  THE  CHURCH  DO?  317 

them  of  their  infant  dedication  and  of  the  claims  of 
Christ,  while  the  expectation  would  be  made  more 
deep  and  serious,  that  they  should  soon  be  ready  to 
show  forth  the  Lord's  death  at  his  table. 

27* 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

THE  ANCIENT   TREATMENT   OF   BAPTIZED  CHILDREN. 

EACH  church,  as  each  pastor  for  the  time,  would 
naturall}^  have  peculiar  ways  of  doing  this,  as 
specially  adapted  to  circumstances ;  but  the  thing 
will,  for  substance,  be  the  same  when  done.  It  will 
be  the  moral,  social,  and  religious  culture  of  the  bap- 
tized children  as  church-members. 

The  work  of  the  early  Church  for  her  catechu- 
mens is  the  best  illustration  of  what  is  liere  meant. 
Having  been  admitted  to  membership  by  baptism, 
the  Church,  within  herself  and  by  her  appointed 
teachers,  put  them,  with  the  unbaptized  proselytes, 
under  a  system  of  training  in  the  theory,  doctrine, 
and  practice  of  the  Church,  with  reference  to  the 
full  enjoyment  of  its  privileges,  and  the  assumption 
of  its  duties.  Their  scheme  of  education  anticipated 
the  time  when  the  children  should  come  into  the 
place  of  the  parents ;  and  they  therefore  labored  to 
bring  them  forward  as  far  as  human  aid  might  "unto 
the  measure  of  the  stature  of  the  fulness  of  Christ." 
And  the  very  early  impression  made  on  those  little 
ones  was  the  instilled  expectation  of  living  a  Chris- 
tian life  in  the  full  privileges  and  duties  of  the 
Church.     If  the  fathers  erred  in  an  excessive   and 

318 


THE  ANCIENT   TREATMENT.  319 

vain  ritualism  in  this  line,  we  should  not  therefore 
reject  a  theory  that  was  legitimate  from  the  constitu- 
tion of  tlie  Church,  and  which  has  eminently  common- 
sense,  as  well  as  Scripture,  for  its  basis. 

This  class  of  catechumens,  made  up  of  baptized 
children  and  adult  candidates  for  a  profession  of 
religion,  were  instructed  by  themselves,  and  in  pri- 
vate rooms  in  the  Church.  Such  topics  as  repent- 
ance, forgiveness,  a  holy  life,  and  the  nature  and 
use  of  baptism,  led  off  in  the  instructions.  An 
exposition  of  the  creed  followed,  with  an  account  of 
tlie  origin  and  authority  of  the  Scriptures,  scriptural 
biographies  and  incidents.  The  teachings  were  rudi- 
mental,  and  the  style  simple,  as  adapted  to  children 
both  in  years  and  in  grace.  We  have  a  good  sample 
extant  of  tlieir  teachings  in  the  twenty-three  lectures 
of  Cyril,  bishop  at  Jerusalem,  born  there  about  A.D. 
315.  These  were  prepared  for  the  catechumens ; 
eighteen  on  the  creed,  and  five  on  the  ordinances  of 
the  Church. 

Under  this  head  in  our  discussion  Biinsen  has  some 
very  pertinent  suggestions  that  we  insert  in  sum- 
mary. ^ 

He  would  reform  the  baptismal  sacrament  in  several 
particulars.  The  consecration  it  symbohzes  he  would 
consider  progressive  and  incomplete  till  the  baptized 
infant  has  come  forward  to  a  Christian  life  and  adult 
years  in  the  Church.  The  notion  that  baptism  is 
needful  to  rescue  the  dying  infant  from  future  peril 
must  be  regarded  as  a  superstition.  The  true  idea 
of  the  ordinance  must  be  received,  "  that  the  bap- 

iHippoLYTUs,  vol.  iiL  pp.  211-31G.    Longmans,  London,  1852. 


820  THE  CHUECH  A^D   HER  CHnj)REN. 

tism  of  new-born  children  is  the  outward  sign  of  the 
vow  of  the  parents  to  dedicate  their  child  to  God,  as 
his  gift  intrusted  to  them,  and  to  prepare  it  by  a 
Christian  education  for  becoming  a  member  of  the 
Christian  Church,  until  it  be  itself  able  to  profess  the 
faith  in  Christ."  When  the  ceremony  is  performed, 
the  duty  of  the  parents,  sponsors,  and  the  Church,  as 
sureties  for  a  Christian  education,  should  be  made 
very  prominent  and  imperative,  due  discrimination 
being  had  in  the  case  of  an  adult. 

As  to  the  Sabbath  services,  instead  of  "  disgusting 
them  with  it  by  making  them  listen  to  sermons  they 
cannot  understand,  and  which  are  in  some  respects 
totally  unfitted  for  them,  a  school  should  be  estab- 
lished for  the  younger  ones,  which,  being  short,  and 
congenial  to  their  feelings,  might  make  an  impression, 
and  be  beneficial  to  them." 

He  suggests  four  baptismal  festivals  for  the  year. 
"  On  each  of  these  days,  all  children  who  have  been 
born  in  the  intermediate  time  will  be  baptized.  The 
thanksgiving  of  mothers  would  most  naturally  form 
a  part  of  such  a  congregational  festival,  and  consti- 
tute a  visible  bond  of  sisterhood  among  the  mothers, 
whatever  mis^ht  be  their  rank." 

The  baptismal  day  should  be  made  "  a  congrega- 
tional and  church  festival,"  marked  and  made  con- 
spicuous, both  in  honor  of  the  rite,  and  for  those 
benefits  from  it  that  only  marked  publicity  can 
secure. 

On  one  of  these  festivals  the  children  of  a  certain 
age  and  aptness  could  be  admitted  to  the  catechetical 
school,  with  admonition  and  prayer  and  blessing ;  the 


THE  ANCIENT  TREATIMENT.  321 

impression  being  constant  and  deepening,  that  under 
this  training,  and  as  baptized  children,  they  are 
expected  to  be,  ere  long,  spiritually  fitted  for  the 
communion  of  the  Church. 

The  passage  of  the  child  from  the  merely  ceremo- 
nial to  the  full  Christian  status  in  the  Church,  when 
with  a  spiritual  delight  it  enters  into  the  enjoyment 
of  all  its  privileges,  should  be  characterized  by  ser- 
vices as  solemn  and  instructive  as  so  important  a  step 
demands. 

Taking  the  children  to  the  catechetical  school,  and 
to  certain  services  of  the  Church,  must  be  regarded 
as  necessary  and  ordinary  duties  in  matter  of  course, 
a  part  of  the  life-work  of  the  body  of  Christ. 

But  we  cite  the  suggestions  of  Biinsen  and  the  cate- 
chetical school  of  the  ancients  as  merely  illustrative, 
entitled  only  to  so  much  regard  as  their  historical 
and  practical  worth  may  ask  of  us.  The  necessities 
of  the  modern  Church  require  a  juvenile  department; 
and  be  it  ancient  or  modern  in  its  model,  or  a  wise 
compound  of  both,  it  should  come  in,  and  take  a 
prominent  and  permanent  place,  as  one  of  the  work- 
ing departments  in  the  Church.  She  owes  it  to  the 
Head  of  the  Church  and  to  the  world,  to  develop 
and  operate  a  system  of  religious  training  for  her 
children,  as  universal  and  thorough  and  permanent, 
as  the  secular  training  that  the  state  furnishes  to  its 
juvenile  citizens.  Meanwhile,  the  Sabbath-school 
should  be  put  forward  with  all  religious  energy  and 
honor,  holding  relations  to  the  Church-school  much 
like  those  that  the  congregation  holds  to  the  Church. 
Aside  from  the  obvious  divine  obligation  in  the  very 


322     THE  CHURCH  AND  HER  CHILD^REN. 

organization  to  do  this,  there  are  other  reasons  neither 
few  nor  obscure. 

1.  The  juvenile  membership  has  a  claim  to  their  pro- 
portion of  the  interest  and  labors  of  the  Church.  As 
at  present,  the  sermons  and  lectures  and  prayers  and 
pastoral  work  are  principally  for  those  who  have 
passed  childhood.  But  the  wants  and  rights  of  the 
younger  ones,  as  members,  should  not  be  disregarded, 
and  themselves  thrust  back.  On  a  memorable  occa- 
sion, the  Saviour  "  was  much  displeased  "  at  such  a 
course :  and  his  rebuke  of  it  should  never  lose  its 
power. 

2.  Their  location,  as  divinely  assigned,  demands 
this  especial  attention.  In  the  current  of  events, 
and  in  the  economy  of  grace,  God  has  given  to  these 
children  this  place  within  the  enclosure  of  his  visible 
kingdom,  and  for  a  purpose.  It  is  the  very  centre  of 
spiritual  light  and  life  and  force.  No  other  position 
is  so  full  of  hope  for  an  unregenerate  child,  because 
God  has  centred  his  covenant  promises  there.  It  is 
a  place  full  of  encouragement  and  expectation,  if  the 
Church  will  fill  it  with  adapted  labor. 

3.  Their  age  invites  to  this  separation  and  concen- 
tration of  labor.  In  their  tender  years,  they  are  as 
helpless  and  dependent  for  moral  and  religious  truth 
as  they  are  for  food  and  clothing  and  housing,  while 
their  hearts  are  plastic  and  receptive,  and  their  sim- 
ple faith  is  almost  without  limit.  A  loving,  friendly 
hand,  studious  of  child-nature,  can  lead  them  where 
it  will ;  and  the  Xavier  who  gives  up  slumber  at 
any  midnight  hour  to  the  calling  little  one  may 
safely  leave  the  proselyting  of  men  to  more  ambi- 


THE  ANCIENT  TREATMENT.  323 

tious  teachers  in  the  noonday  crowd.  Tliese  young 
hearts  present  a  strange  contrast  with  the  coldness 
and  liardness  and  cultivated  scepticism  of  adult  years, 
on  which  so  much  clerical  labor  is  vainly  expended. 

4.  These  child-members  are  the  Church  in  germ. 
They  are  what  the  nursery-rows  are  to  the  future 
fruit-orchard.  If  budded,  they  have  passed  under 
the  divine  and  human  hand  of  foreordination,  and 
the  fruits  of  the  Spirit  have  already  been  gathered 
somewhat,  and  a  full  harvest  is  awaited  with  cer- 
tainty. If  unbudded,  they  unconsciously  solicit  and 
wait  for  a  simple  process  that  will  forestall  the  very 
laborious,  late,  and  often  fatally  delayed  work  of 
grafting  old  trees.  Indeed,  a  State  conference  of 
Churches  might  do  a  more  unprofitable  thing  than  to 
hold  one  annual  meeting  in  Rochester,  N.Y.,  and 
spend  one  long  recess  in  the  vast  nurseries  there  in 
the  budding-season.  For  the  Church  of  the  future 
does  lie  potentially  in  her  child-members;  and  we 
have  been  paying  far  too  much  attention  relatively 
to  old  wild  olive-trees. 

A  thoughtful,  educating  Christian  cannot  fail  to 
see  the  immense  importance  of  the  point  here  made  ; 
and  a  working,  praying  Church  will  feel  the  need  of 
the  separated  class  in  question.  An  opportunity  is 
here  offered  that  it  is  extremely  unwise  to  lose,  and, 
when  lost,  the  damage  is  wide-reaching,  as  alwa3's 
when  a  divine  plan  is  marred. 

We  have  said  that  the  Church  will  feel  the  need 
of  this  separated  class.  For  this  system  of  religious 
training  should  be  ecclesiastical,  and  not  pastoral 
merely,  that  it  may  have  an  inwrought  and  organic 


324  THE   CHUECH  AND   HER   CHILDREN. 

permanence  in  the  Church,  and  so  an  independence 
of  the  changes  and  intermissions  and  moods  in  multi- 
plex pastorates.  In  these  unfortunately  frequent  min- 
isterial changes,  it  is  happening  that  the  history  of 
many  a  Church  is  made  up  of  a  series  of  prefaces, 
and  of  diagrams  of  hypothetic  work.  If  in  these 
changes  only  the  records  and  the  meeting-house, 
and  possibly  the  creed,  hold  over,  the  spiritual  fore- 
casting for  the  community  cannot  be  very  hopeful. 
It  is  seedtime  all  the  year  round  ;  and  it  comes  to  be 
said,  "  One  soweth,  and  another"  — sows. 

A  glance  into  an  ancient  catecliumenium,  or  sacred 
schoolroom,  will  show  the  nature  and  aptness  and 
power  of  the  system  proposed.  The  room  is  private 
for  the  time  for  this  purpose.  Baptized  children,  and 
candidates  for  baptism,  young  or  old,  if  old  enough 
to  be  instructed,  compose  the  audience.  The  in- 
structor corresponds  to  our  Sabbath-school  superin- 
tendent, or  Bible-class  teacher.  Sometimes,  however, 
he  is  what  the  ancient  Church  styled  a  deacon,  pres- 
byter, or  even  bishop.  Possibly  the  class  is  special, 
being  made  up  of  rustic  women  and  girls  of  low  in- 
telligence ;  when  the  teacher  is  a  deaconess.  The 
topics  are  the  simplest  in  a  course  of  sacred  instruc- 
tion, varying  and  progressive  with  the  attainments 
of  the  class.  Clemens  Romanus,  possibly  contempo- 
rary with  the  apostles,  in  an  apocryphal,  though  very 
early  epistle,  is  represented  as  comparing  the  Church 
to  a  ship.  In  it,  he  says,  the  bishop  is  the  pilot,  the 
presbyters  are  the  mariners,  the  deacons  are  the 
chief  oarsmen,  and  the  catechists  are  those  who  give 
information  about  the  voyage,  take  fare,  and  admit 


THE  ANCIENT  TREATMENT.  325 

passengers.  So  they  prepare  the  catechumens  to 
make  the  voyage  of  life  successfully.  Such  a  cate- 
chist  was  the  great  Origen  at  Alexandria,  when  only 
eighteen  years  of  age. 

Change  now  the  time  from  the  third  to  the  nine- 
teenth century,  the  room  also  to  one  of  our  beautiful 
chapels,  and  the  pupils  to  our  little  ones  of  four 
years  and  upward,  who,  like  Samuel  and  Josiah  and 
John  and  Timothy,  have  been  very  early  dedicated 
to  God.  Let  such  also  be  brought  in,  as  Edwards 
speaks  of  in  his  ^'  Narrative  of  Surprising  Conver- 
sions :  "  — 

''  It  has  heretofore  been  looked  on  as  a  strange 
thing,  when  any  have  seemed  to  be  savingly  wrought 
upon,  and  remarkably  changed  in  their  childhood ; 
but  now,  I  suppose,  near  thirty  were  to  appearance 
so  wrought  upon  between  ten  and  fourteen  years  of 
age,  and  two  between  nine  and  ten,  and  one  of  them 
about  four  years  of  age.  .  .  .  Yea,  there  are  several 
numerous  families,  in  which,  I  think,  we  have  reason 
to  hope  that  all  the  children  are  truly  godly,  and 
most  of  them  lately  become  so." 

Let  the  room  be  made  attractive  and  beautiful 
by  whatever  can  interest  and  instruct  a  sacred 
childhood.  The  family  room  of  Doddridge,  as  a 
boy,  is  suggestive.  Dutch  tiles,  painted  with  Scrip- 
ture scenes,  ornamented  the  fireplace.  Here  it  was 
Adam,  Eve,  and  the  serpent ;  there,  cruel  Cain,  or 
the  ark ;  there,  Joseph  in  the  pit,  Elisha's  bears,  or 
the  stern  men  ordering  the  children  away  from  Jesus. 
Accain  and  ao^ain  the  anxious  mother  told  the  stories, 
but  specially  that  of  the  babe  in  the  manger,  to  her 

28 


326     THE  CHUECH  AND  HER  CHILDREN. 

sickly  boy,  *'poor  little  Philip."  Hence  the  man  of 
God,  and  the  Family  Expositor. 

The  best  talent  in  the  Church  for  juvenile  teach- 
ing should  be  drafted  for  the  place.  Hearts  in  sym- 
pathy with  children,  and  with  the  Lord  Jesus,  will 
alone  answer  the  demand.  Borrow  the  best  charac- 
teristics of  the  Sabbath-school  most  successful  in  win- 
ning children  to  the  Saviour.  Versatility  in  the 
exercises,  an  all-pervading  cheerfulness,  and  a  tender, 
loving  piety,  must  be  predominant,  while  the  paren- 
tal prayer  and  anxiety  and  expectation,  that  have 
crowned  the  best  maternal  associations,  should  per- 
vade the  room  as  an  influence.  As  the  parents 
think  of  their  own  Church  relations,  and  are  con- 
scious of  a  separateness  and  an  unlikeness  from  the 
rest  of  the  congregation,  these  children  should  be 
made  to  think  of  their  seclusion  from  others,  and  to 
have  a  growing  expectation  of  the  most  sacred  of 
Church  privileges  with  their  parents.  The  teachings 
will  point  significantly  to  this,  while  they  outline  the 
life  of  the  child  whom  God  loves. 

It  might  be  well  to  associate,  with  these,  those  chil- 
dren unbaptized,  as  well  as  adults,  who  give  evidences 
of  piety,  and  may  therefore  be  considered  as  candi- 
dates for  the  Church.  Such  Avas  usage  in  the  early 
Church.  They  would  then,  with  proper  deliberation 
and  a  safety  in  examination,  together  with  suitable 
preliminar}^  instruction,  be  prepared  for  admission  to 
the  Church.  Thus  man}^  of  the  hinderances,  incon- 
veniences, and  evil  results  attending  the  present 
methods  of  admission,  would  be  avoided. 

The  impetuous  and  ardent  would  in  such  a  class- 


THE  ANCIENT  TREATMENT.  327 

room  fiiul  a  sacred  retreat  for  both  reflection  and 
instruction,  and  for  the  developing  and  enjoying  of 
all  the  spiritual  life  they  may  have.  By  this  prudent 
delay  young  converts  would  come  under  such  super- 
vision and  obligation  and  expectations  as  their  con- 
dition so  naturally  demands.  Their  denominational 
preferences  would  be  insured,  and  their  membership 
put  in  a  reasonable  anticipation ;  while,  if  not  truly 
regenerate,  they  would  be  stayed  from  a  premature 
profession  of  religion,  and  they  and  the  Church  be 
spared  the  common  sorrow  and  mortification  and 
damage  of  unworthy  membership. 

To  such  a  class-room,  also,  the  very  opposite  of 
the  impetuous  and  ardent  could  be  persuaded  to 
come ;  those  tender-hearted,  timid,  and  doubting 
ones,  evidently  disciples,  so  many  of  whom  are  found 
lingering  for  years  around  the  door  of  the  Church. 
They  would  go  to  this  class-room,  and  there  probably 
they  would  gain  knowledge  and  confidence  and 
courage  to  go  farther. 

Perhaps  the  greatest  gain,  however,  to  be  obtained 
from  this  school  of  the  Church  would  be  the  dis- 
covery of  Christians.  It  is  a  noteworthy  fact,  that 
frequently  persons  of  adult  years  are  found,  who  are 
living  as  good  a  Christian  life  comparatively  as  could 
be  expected,  when  the  general  presumption  is  that 
they  are  not  Christians.  In  a  time  of  religious  fervor 
and  of  conversions,  they  are  supposed  to  become 
converts  ;  and  pastors  and  examining  committees 
meet  them  among  the  candidates  for  membersliip. 
But  they  cannot  tell  when  they  gave  their  hearts  to 
God,   and   began   to   love   the   Lord    Jesus    Christ. 


328  THE  CHURCH  AND   HER   CHILDREN. 

Allowing  for  the  ordinary  fluctuations  in  religious 
experience,  they  say  that  they  have  always  felt  as 
they  now  do.  They  cannot  recall  a  time  when  they 
did  not  love  God,  and  his  people  and  Church  and 
service. 

What  is  the  inference  ?  That,  in  many  cases  of 
this  kind,  they  became  children  of  God  back  of  any 
knowledge  by  the  Church,  and  of  any  present  per- 
sonal remembrances  of  their  own.  Far  back,  when 
the  cradle  was  nearer  to  them  than  an  unmotherly 
church,  God,  by  some  of  his  simple  processes  in 
showing  Jesus  to  a  little  child,  brought  them  into  his 
kingdom.  Now,  after  ten,  thirty,  seventy  years,  the 
Church  has  just  found  it  out !  An  unfortunate, 
uncherished,  and  therefore  undeveloped  Christian  life, 
for  all  this  period  of  gray  dawn,  like  arctic  days 
where  sunrise  is  almost  a  failure  !  The  fruits  of  the 
spirit  uncultured  and  unharvested,  because  the  field 
has  been  unrecognized  and  unfenced  as  a  section  of 
the  holy  land  !  Lambs  here  and  there  undiscovered 
in  the  rougher,  wilder  parts  of  the  pasture,  and  no 
shepherd  to  "  gather  them  with  his  arm,  and  carry 
them  in  his  bosom!"  How  nigh  unto  perishing  many 
of  them  must  have  come,  worried  of  wild  beasts, 
shot  at  and  sorely  grieved  of  the  archers,  and  lying 
outside  the  long  nights  under  windy  storm  and  tem- 
pest !  Possibly  to  save  them  from  all  this  it  is  that 
the  great  Shepherd  takes  certain  lambs  into  his 
upper  fold,  where  they  will  be  cared  for. 

Surely  the  mother  Church  should  have  discern- 
ment enough  to  recognize  her  children,  even  though 
quite  young,  and  should  be  willing  to  give  place  and 


THE   ANCIENT  TREATMENT.  329 

time  for  the  discovery.  The  mother  slioiild  be  sensi- 
tive to  the  sHghtest  infant  warmth  and  pulse  and 
breathing. 

It  may  be  that  we  have  become  unduly  ambitious 
of  the  rough-and-tumble  of  those  violent  adult  con-, 
versions   that  figure  so  prominently  in  some  narra- 
tives of  revivals,  and  in  the  one-sided  biographies  of 
persons  rarely  seen  alive. 

But,  be  all  this  as  it  may,  the  Church  could  have 
this  class-room,  where  some  of  her  officers,  with  the 
tenderness  and  earnestness  and  aptness  of  spiritual 
experts,'  could  discover  among  the  little  ones  the 
incipient  germs  of  grace.  Then,  if  some  little  Oba- 
diah  is  preparing  to  say  in  later  days,  '^  I  thy  servant 
fear  the  Lord  from  my  youth,"  the  Church  will  be  in 
a  way  to  discover  the  pious  boy  betimes.  As  it  is, 
many  a  Church  is  like  Eli,  when  "  his  eyes  began  to 
wax  dim,"  and  he  perceived  not  that  God  had  shown 
grace  and  favor  to  the  child,  '•'•  till  the  Lord  called 
Samuel  again  the  third  time." 

28* 


CHAPTER   XL. 

TO    AND   FOR   AND   ABOUT   PARENTS.  —  CONCLIJSION. 

AT  high  water,  on  a  crowning  flat  in  Northern  Min- 
nesota, two  canoes  rest  motionless.  They  wait 
for  any  slightest  breeze  or  current  or  oar-stroke  to 
give  direction.  A  few  negligent  clips  of  the  paddle 
may  doom  one  to  lie  up  a  wrecked  waif  somewhere 
with  Franklin,  among  the  icebergs  of  the  Arctic  ; 
while  the  other  is  wisely  and  kindly  started  south- 
ward, to  drift  under  magnolia  blossoms  into  the 
sunny  gulf. 

It  is  very  well  to  say  that  every  one  must  paddle 
his  own  canoe ;  but  it  is  not  too  much  to  ask  that 
parents  take  the  laboring  oar,  when  their  children, 
in  the  opening  voyage  for  life,  may  catch  their  destiny 
from  the  slightest  influences. 

"  From  the  same  cradle's  side, 
From  the  same  mother  s  knee, 
One  to  long  darkness  and  the  frozen  tide, 
One  to  the  peaceful  sea." 

The  words  of  Cyprian,  already  quoted,  where  he 
makes  the  ruined  children  plead  in  the  Judgment  Day, 
will  often  come  back  with  an  anxious  memory :  "  We 
did  nothing  :  we  did  not  of  our  own  accord  forsake 

830 


TO   AND   FOR   AND   ABOUT  PARENTS.  331 

tlie  bread  and  cup  of  tlie  Lord  for  profane  rites. 
The  neglect  of  others  ruined  us.  Our  parents  de- 
stroyed us :  they  deprived  us  of  the  Church  as  a 
mother." 

The  influences  from  the  reli<j:ious  or  unrelii^ious 
surroundings  of  a  child  are  often  determining  and 
foreclosing,  while  yet  a  slight  over-influence  would 
change  the  direction.  Alexander,  though  conqueror 
of  the  known  world,  could  never  overcome  certain 
defects  of  gait  and  manner  that  he  had  acquired 
from  Leonidas,  his  teacher  in  childhood  ;  while  the 
Gracchi  owed  much  of  the  beauty  and  force  of 
their  eloquence  to  the  purity  and  grace  of  the  lan- 
guage of  their  mother. 

At  the  period  of  sacred  dedication,  and  in  the  very 
early  years  of  juvenile  training,  these  delicate  influ- 
ences are  predestinating.  The  canoe  is  taking  its 
direction  ;  the  future  conqueror  is  assuming  gait  and 
manner ;  and  childish  lips,  in  unconscious  imitation 
of  the  mother-tongue,  are  framing  the  coming 
orations. 

It  is  true  many  parents  take  but  little  interest  in 
this  ordinance  of  infant  consecration  in  our  Prot- 
estant churches.  But  the  cause,  reasons,  necessities, 
and  opportunities  for  interest  are  not  well  given  to 
them.  In  the  unprotestant  churches,  where  so 
much  is  made  of  the  ordinance,  though  unscriptu- 
rally  and  unreasonably,  there  is  no  lack  of  interest, 
even  to  an  anxious  and  painful  extent.  With  us, 
parental  hearts,  regenerate  and  controlled  by  love 
for  the  Lord  Jesus,  would  respond  warmly  and 
strongly  to  any  religious  endeavors  of  the  Church  iu 


332  THE  CHURCH  AND   HER  CHILDREN. 

the  welfare  of  their  children.  It  is  not  in  the  heart 
of  father  or  mother  to  faint  or  fail,  when  the  com- 
bined people  of  God  propose  a  spiritual  favor  for 
their  child. 

Let  it  only  be  known  and  seen  that  the  arrange- 
ment of  God  proposes  to  place  the  children  of 
believers  in  separation,  as  in  a  place  of  divine  atten- 
tion and  covenant  promise,  and  of  religious  labor 
and  expectation  of  salvation  above  all  others,  and 
Christian  parents  will  answer  joyfully  and  energeti- 
colly.  This  is  precisely  where  the  constitution  of 
the  Church  of  God  would  place  the  child  of  the 
covenanting  believer.  But  the  Church,  failing  to 
apprehend  the  intent  of  her  organization  in  this 
regard,  and  keeping  only  the  adult  half  of  her  cove- 
nant, slights  her  vast  privilege,  loses  her  opportunity, 
and  so  neglects  to  present  this  inducement  and 
appeal  and  obligation  to  her  parental  members. 

Let  a  Christian  mother  know  that  there  are  times 
and  occasions  and  services  when  all  the  devout  force 
of  the  Church  is  concentrated  on  the  children  of  the 
Church,  for  their  moral  training,  safe  entertainment, 
religious  instruction,  and  conversion,  and  the  reasons 
and  influences  must  be  strong  and  persistent  on  her 
to  keep  her  child  from  that  group.  Let  her  know, 
that,  from  the  days  of  Abraham,  it  has  been  the  habit 
of  God,  by  promise,  to  give  a  discriminating  and 
very  tender  interest  to  the  children  within  that 
sacred  circle,  and  her  heart  will  yearn  for  the  day 
when  her  loved  one  may  be  placed  in  it.  Let  her 
know  that  the  leading  men  and  women  of  the 
Church,  down  along  the  ages,  '^  who  through  faith 


TO   AND   FOR   AND   ABOUT   PARENTS.  333 

have  subdued  kingdoms,  wrought  righteousness, 
obtained  promises,  stopped  the  mouths  of  lions, 
quenched  the  violence  of  fire,  escaped  the  edge  of 
the  sword,  out  of  weakness  were  made  strong,  waxed 
valiant  in  fight,  turned  to  flight  the  armies  of  the 
aliens,"  and  have  made  the  dark  pages  of  human 
history  luminous  with  their  biographies,  have  been 
almost  totally  those  whom  God  has  entered  as  infants 
in  this  training-school ;  and  with  what  longing  and 
expectation  and  pra3'er  will  she  enter  her  child,  and 
ask  to  have  it  enrolled  on  such  a  catalogue  !  Indeed, 
parents  need  only  to  have  the  divine  inducements 
presented,  and  opportunities  offered,  and  they  will 
show  an  intense  interest  in  this  ordinance  ;  for  it  has 
a  divine  adaptation  to  the  parental  heart  that  grace 
has  warmed  up  with  a  spiritual  tenderness  and 
anxiety  for  one's  offspring. 

Parents  are  not  only  quick  to  recognize  any  aux- 
iliary aid  in  the  proper  education  of  their  children  ; 
but  they  readily  discern  the  ease  and  power  with 
which  slight  causes  work  great  results,  and  small 
opportunities  mature  into  immense  advantages. 

Some  of  our  Western  building-stone,  when  fresh 
from  its  native  bed,  can  be  cut  and  carved  with  the 
ease  and  grace  of  a  soft  marble  or  hardening  stucco. 
But  when  the  sun  and  the  rain,  the  weather  and  the 
years,  have  lain  on  it,  it  takes  to  itself  the  resistance, 
and  needs  the  chisel,  of  Quincy  granite.  Then  when 
the  arcliitect  would  give  it  new  forms,  and  ornament 
it  with  scrolls  and  metopes  and  legends  and  sculp- 
tured heads,  he  must  expend  a  labor  that  ignores 
economy. 


334  THE  CHURCH  AND  HER   CHILDREN". 

Few  men  have  exercised  a  power  for  the  Church 
so  wide  and  permanent  as  Origen ;  yet  its  founda- 
tions were  laid  in  his  childhood-home,  and  before  he 
was  seventeen.  He  was  trained  from  the  cradle  in 
the  Scriptures,  and  a  family  piety  early  took  posses- 
sion of  him,  while  he  daily  memorized  some  portion 
of  the  word  of  God.  So  steadfast  was  his  juvenile 
piety,  that,  when  his  father  was  about  to  suffer  mar- 
tyrdom, only  the  hiding  of  the  lad's  clothes  by  his 
mother  kept  him  from  sharing  the  violent  death  with 
him.  Thus  held  back,  he  wrote  to  him,  ''  Father, 
take  heed  ;  let  not  your  care  for  us  work  a  change  in 
your  purpose,"  —  a  noble  testimony  to  parental  fidel- 
it}^  and  the  rich  and  early  fruit  of  infant  dedication. 

Neander  pays  a  beautiful  yet  simply  just  tribute  to 
Christian  mothers  in  their  work  for  the  Church :  — 

"  By  them  the  first  seeds  of  Christianity  were 
jDlanted  in  the  souls  of  those  who  afterward  produced 
great  effects  as  teachers  of  the  Church.  The  pious 
Nona,  by  her  prayers  and  the  silent  influence  of  the 
religion  which  shone  through  her  life,  gradually  won 
over  to  the  gospel  her  husband  Gregory,  who  had 
belonged  to  an  unchristian  sect ;  and  he  became  a 
devoted  bishop.  Their  first-born  son  was  carried, 
soon  after  his  birth,  to  the  altar  of  the  Church,  where 
they  placed  a  volume  of  the  Gospels  in  his  hands, 
and  dedicated  him  to  the  service  of  the  'Lord.  The 
example  of  a  pious  education,  and  his  early  consecra- 
tion, first  received  from  his  mother,  of  which  he  was 
often  reminded,  made  a  deep  impression  on  the  son ; 
and  he  compares  his  mother  with  Hannah,  who  con- 
secrated  Samuel   to    God.      This   impression  abode 


TO  AND  FOR  AND  ABOUT  PARENTS.     335 

upon  him,  while  exposed,  during  the  years  of  his 
youth  Avhich  he  spent  at  Athens,  to  the  contagion 
of  the  paganism  which  there  prevailed."  This  son 
was  afterwards  the  distinguished  Christian  and 
Church  teacher,  Gregory  of  Nazianzum. 

'*  The  pious  Anthusa  of  Antioch  retired  from  the 
hustle  of  the  great  world,  to  which  she  belonged  by 
her  condition,  into  the  still  retreat  of  domestic  life. 
Having  lost  her  husband  at  the  age  of  twenty,  from 
regard  to  his  memory,  and  a  desire  to  devote  herself 
wholly  to  the  education  of  her  son,  she  chose  to 
remain  a  widow ;  and  it  was  owing  in  part  to  this 
early,  pious,  and  careful  education,  that  the  boy 
became  afterwards  so  well  known  as  the  great 
Church-teacher,  John  Chrysostom." 

"  A  truly  pious  mother  had  seasonably  scattered 
the  seeds  of  Christianity  in  Augustine's  heart  while 
yet  a  child.  The  incipient  germs  of  his  spiritual  life 
were  unfolded  in  the  unconscious  piety  of  childhood. 
Whatever  treasures  of  virtue  and  worth  the  life  of 
faith,  even  of  a  soul  not  trained  by  scientific  culture, 
can  bestow,  was  set  before  him  in  the  example  of  his 
pious  mother.  The  period  of  childlike,  unconscious 
piety  was  followed,  in  this  case,  by  the  period  of  self- 
disunion,  inward  strife,  and  conflict."  The  years 
were  long  and  weary  for  the  unbelieving,  wayward 
son,  and  the  praying,  pleading  Monica.  In  luxurious 
and  profligate  Carthage,  in  paganized  Rome,  and  in 
Milan  too,  Augustine  was  a  Manichean,  a  Platonic, 
and  a  New-Platonic,  the  proud,  ambitious,  unchristian 
philosopher.  All  this  time,  he  says,  his  mother 
"  wept  for  him  more  than  a  mother  who  is  following 


336  THE   CHURCH  AND   HER   CHILDREN. 

her  son  to  the  tomb ; "  while  her  greatest  human 
comfort  came  in  the  words  of  a  good  bishop  :  "  It  is 
not  possible  that  the  child  of  so  many  tears  should 
perish."  Meanwhile  Augustine,  held  by  the  child- 
hood lessons  of  the  mother  and  by  the  convictions  of 
his  manhood,  confesses  that  he  was  in  '^  a  continual 
torment  and  agitation  of  mind."  Through  all  moral 
perils  and  wanderings,  those  early  ties  to  a  better 
way  held  him.  Through  long  and  terrible  storms 
the  ship  dragged  anchor,  but  never  parted  cable. 
Home  influences,  and  parental  prayers  and  teachings, 
prevailed,  and  Augustine  was  saved  for  eminence  in 
the  Church. 

It  was  once  our  hap  to  spend  a  drizzly,  foggy 
week-day  in  Quebec ;  and  one  stroll  led  to  the  cathe- 
dral. Its  open  doors  to  worshippers  for  all  days  and 
almost  all  hours  beckoned  us  in.  Solitary  devotees 
came  and  went,  —  the  banker,  fresh  from  his  desk  of 
pounds  and  shillings,  the  hod-carrier,  the  washer- 
woman, and  she  who  rustled  in  silks.  Once  within, 
they  all  seemed  alike  reverent  and  devout,  and  on  an 
equality.  Here  and  there,  wide  apart  and  lonely, 
they  told  their  beads  and  pattered  prayer,  and  de- 
parted. Up  a  side  aisle,  and  almost  stealthily,  a  man, 
poorly  clad,  led  two  little  girls,  the  younger  not  more 
than  three  or  four.  They  paused  and  knelt  before  a 
pictured  crucifix ;  and  with  a  woman's  carefulness 
and  tenderness  the  man  placed  the  little  ones  in  the 
attitude  of  worshippers,  with  folded  hands  and  up- 
lifted eyes.  Evidently  the  wife  and  mother  had  gone 
before.  Then  their  lips  followed  his  in  low  articula- 
tion, and  their  eyes  bent  with  his   on   the   crucifix, 


TO  AND   FOR   AND   ABOUT  PARENTS.  337 

and  their  fingers  imitated  his  in  crossing  the  little 
foreheads  and  bosoms.  It  was  a  slow,  patient,  absorb- 
ing service  with  them  ;  and  then  they  rose  up  and 
glided  away.  Our  Protestant  head  shook  somewhat, 
but  the  heart  went  out  very  reverently  toward  the 
man,  and  took  hold  of  the  children  very  tenderly. 
They  were  children  of  his  and  of  the  departed 
mother's  covenant  with  God,  and  were  to  be  brought 
up  faithful  and  fast  in  the  holy  catholic  Church. 
How  wholly  improbable  that  either  girl  so  trained 
would  ever  swerve  from  the  faith  and  ritual  and 
spirit  of   the  religion  of  their  parents ! 

How  slow  Christian  parents  are  to  learn,  that,  in 
shaping  character,  their  opportunity  and  power  are 
nearest  and  next  to  the  divine !  And,  because  of 
this,  God  puts  them  under  this  covenant  obligation 
to  seize  the  opportunity  and  apply  the  power  in 
training  their  children.  Of  course  the  moral  destiny 
of  the  child  does  not  lie  totally  in  parental  hands ; 
but  it  lies  there  potentially  more  than  in  all  others, 
save  the  divine. 

It  was  in  1850,  that  a  band  of  Iowa  emigrants, 
bound  for  our  new  Ophir,  entered  the  South  Pass, 
that  continental  table-land  where  two  brooklets,  in  a 
quandary,  run  different  ways ;  one  for  the  Atlantic, 
and  the  other  for  the  Pacific.  It  is  the  land  crest,  or 
divide  between  the  two  great  oceans.  In  a  fancy  as 
elevated  as  their  position,  they  transferred  a  hunter's 
cup  of  water  from  each  to  the  other  stream,  and  then 
followed  them  in  imagination  and  conversation  in 
their  exchanged  destinies.  With  as  little  effort,  and 
less  reflection,  many  a  child  has  had  its  destiny  and 

29 


338  THE   CHURCH   AND   HER   CHILDREN. 

current  changed  to  the  other  side  of  the  continent  of 
life.  Well  will  it  be  for  the  children,  and  so  much 
better  for  mankind,  when  parents  comprehend  pro- 
foundly and  anxiously  the  fact,  that  the  moral  table- 
lands and  divides  in  this  world  are  very  near  to 
where  the  cradle  is  rocked. 

Because  of  this  very  fact,  moreover,  that  the 
moulding  forces  of  life  lie  so  near  to  the  cradle,  the 
parent  must  never  forget  that  they  lie  on  a  play- 
ground. The  early  period  of  all  higher  animal  life 
is  a  period  of  physical  enjoyment  and  amusement. 
Child-life  is  no  exception  to  this;  and  the  consecrated 
child  needs  to  be  amused,  as  well  as  instructed  and 
trained.  Safe  social  enjoyment  must  be  provided  in 
order  to  secure  the  best  moral  and  religious  results. 
The  little  games  and  sociables,  and  rambling  recrea- 
tions, are  a  great  aid  to  religion  in  taking  possession 
of  a  child. 

Any  pastor  who  has  noticed  how  much  a  lamb 
frolics,  just  for  the  fun  of  it,  must  consider  that  the 
lambs  of  his  flock,  as  belonging  also  to  the  animal 
kingdom,  have  like  propensities,  and  quite  as  reason- 
able and  as  innocent.  Indeed,  they  are  constitutional 
necessities,  and  a  wise  provision  should  be  made  for 
them.  The  plays,  as  the  prayers  of  a  child,  are  wor- 
thy of  careful  parental  attention  ;  and  a  system  of 
persistent  negatives  on  juvenile  indulgences  will 
never  furnish  the  recreations  that  childhood  needs, 
and  age  can  approbate.  Great  care  is  needed,  there- 
fore, lest  one  hinder  a  healthy  moral  and  religious 
development.  Juvenile  piety,  if  well  started  and 
proportioned,  will  not  hush  the  shouting  of  a  boy,  or 


TO   AND   FOR   AND   ABOUT   PARENTS.  339 

slacken  his  running,  or  shorten  his  kite-string.  Lit- 
tle Samuel,  even  at  Shiloli,  must  have  had  some 
childhood  sports  outside  the  tabernacle.  Many  an 
adult  Samuel,  as  well  as  Hannah  and  Elkanah,  pass- 
ing for  sedate  and  devout  church-members,  are  pleased 
with  a  span,  and  lawn,  and  brilliant  table-service, 
which  are  only  the  adult  kite  and  top  and  oar.  Pos- 
sibly more  fatherly  and  motherly  attention,  in  the 
line  of  juvenile  enjoyments,  would  have  saved 
Hophni  and  Phinehas.  With  no  unjust  reflections 
on  any  Eli,  ancient  or  modern,  it  might  be  suggested, 
that,  if  some  good  men  would  tremble  more  for  the 
necessary  and  suitable  recreations  of  their  little  ones, 
they  would  have  less  cause  in  old  age  to  tremble  for 
the  ark  of  God. 


But  oar  discussion,  expanded  and  itemized,  comes 
to  its  conclusion.  This  examination  of  the  stones  of 
Zion  has  been  full  of  interest,  and  we  confess  to  its 
ending  with  regrets.  Stones  so  laid  of  God,  and  in 
family  strata,  and  on  which  the  most  of  the  beauti- 
ful and  comfortable  and  hopeful  in  this  world  has 
been  builded,  and  is  to  be,  beget  a  study  fall  of  the 
deepest  emotions. 

Among  these  ancient  foundations,  we  have  found 
Abraham  building  in  faith,  and  David  in  triumph- 
ant song,  and  Isaiah  in  glowing  prophecy.  We 
have  walked  about  Zion  with  the  Johns,  harbinger 
and  evangelist,  and  with  the  saints,  Peter  and  Paul, 
and  counted  the  towers  thereof.  Under  the  arches, 
and  on  the  towers  and  goodly  battlements,  we  have 


340  THE  CHUECH  AND  HER   CHILDREN. 

found  Irenseus  and  Origen,  Chrysostom  and  Augus- 
tine ;  and  our  own  men  of  yesterday,  Luther  and  Cal- 
vin and  Edwards. 

Indeed,  we  have  been  in  a  company  of  notables; 
for  if  we  run  over  the  catalogue  of  the  world's 
worthies,  starring  the  names  that  have  given  cheerful 
color  and  warmth  to  the  pages  of  history,  by  the 
humanities  and  philanthropies  and  virtues  of  all 
higher  life,  we  shall  find  that  the  foot-note  to  each 
star  is,  "  This  and  that  man  was  born  in  her." 


INDEX. 


A. 

Abraham,  and  the  founding  of  the  Church,  12. 

'*  and  the  two  covenants  with,  civil  and  religious,  13-25. 

"  The  children  of;  spiritual,  not  lineal,  20,  21. 

Alexander  and  his  unfortunate  teacher,  331. 
Ambrose  of  Milan,  Testimony  of,  194-11)7. 

"  '*  Baptism  of,  214,  215. 

Aretitusa  and  her  son  Chrj^sostom,  .3.35. 

Apostles,  The,  as  related  to  Old  and  New  Dispensation,  136-141. 
Apostolic  practice  equal  to  a  command  of  Christ,  Go,  06. 
Augustine,  The  baptism  of,  212-214, 

"  on  infant  church-membership,  295. 

'^  on  infant  baptism,  155,  175-180. 

**  and  his  mother,  335,  336. 

B. 

Baptism  and  circumcision  connected  and  contrasted,  00-G4,  210- 
218,  221-229. 

"        and  circumcision.  The  different  offices  of,  87. 

"        of  female  proselytes,  83,  84. 

"        of  households,  common  before  Apostolic  times,  130. 

"        of  infants  among  the  Jews,  84. 

"        of  infants,  Evidence  of,  within  eighty  years  of  Apostolic 
times,  244-250,  280. 

"       of  infants,  if  in  common  use  will  not  be  much  mentioned 
by  authors,  154-150,  171,  172,  175.  170. 

"        infant;  not  time  enough  to  introduce  as  a  forgery,  108, 
109,  220-229. 

"        infant.     The  Pelagians  had  great  reason  to  deny  if  pos- 
sible, 172. 

29*  841 


342  INDEX. 

Baptism,  infant,  Many  and  varied  early  evidences  of,  192,  193. 

"         infant.  Many  terms  or  expressions  for,  197,  201. 

"         infant,  not  mentioned  by  early  fathers  for  eighty  years, 
and  this  objection  considered,  257-272. 

"        of  John,  what,  67-70. 

"       of  John  no  novelty,  71-79. 

*'       of  proselytes  by  the  Jews,  83-88. 

"       Jewish  and  Christian  discriminated,  216-219. 

"       not  prominent  in  the  New  Testament,  258. 

"       would  not  be  much  discussed  by  early  writers,  266,  267. 
Baptisms  of  the  Jews,  71-90. 
Baptized  child.  The,  divinely  located,  297,  298. 

"  child,  Much  expected  for,  of  God,  298,  299. 

"  child,  The  regeneration  of,  to  be  expected,  299,  300. 

"  children.  The  claim  of,  on  the  Church,  322,  323. 

"  children,  The  neglect  of,  by  the  Church,  301-312. 

*'  children.  What  can  the  Church  do  for,  313-317. 

"  children  should  make  a  distinct  class,  315,  316,  323. 

"  children  should  attend  the  preparatory  lectures,  316,  317. 

"  children.  The  ancient  treatment  of,  318-329. 

"Baptized  unto  Moses:  "  what,  77-79. 
"  Baptizing  them :  "what,  99-106. 
Baptizing  no  novelty  to  the  eleven,  100-106. 
Baptist  theory  of  Abrahamic  covenants,  33-36. 
Baptist  theory  of  a  second  church,  26-36. 
Basil,  Testimony  of,  198. 

"      The  baptism  of,  208-210. 
Biblical  argument  for  infant  baptism,  Summary  of,  150-153. 
BiBLioTHECA  Sacra,  Theory  of,  on  "renascuntur  in  Deum,"  254. 
BiJNSEN  and  the  baptized  children,  319-321. 


o. 

Candidates  for  the  Church,  and  a  church  school  for  them,  323- 

329. 
Canoes,  The  two  in  Minnesota,  330,  331. 

Carthage,  Councils  of  :   A.D.  253,  pp.  221-229;  A.D.  397,  pp. 
188-190;  A.D.  400,  pp.  187,  188;  A.D.  416,  p.  170;  A.D.  418, 
p.  171. 
Catechumens,  Ancient  treatment  of,  by  the  Church,  286-288. 
■*'  The  ancient,  and  should  be  restored,  323-329. 


INDEX.  343 

Children  and  their  amusements,  338,  339. 

"         Are  tlio  rights  of,  infringed  by  baptism,  280-201. 

"         baptized,  The  position. of,  in  the  Church,  207-:3(X). 

*'  baptized,  Relations  of,  to  the  Church,  282-206. 

"         have  no  hfe  separable  from  family  life,  4^3-47. 

"         if  omitted  from  first  Christian  Church,  would  occasion 

great  disputes,  130. 
"         if  not  omitted,  little  would  be  said  of  them,  143. 
*'         included  in  ancient  covenants  of  God,  40-42. 
"         Little  provision  for,  in  church  service,  303-307. 
"         members  of  the  Cliurch  before  Christ,  138. 
"         Modern  treatment  of,  288-201. 

"         of  the  Church,  The.     ^Vho  have  they  been,  330,  340. 
"  Objections  to  baptizing,  considered,  107-124,  142,  14.3. 

"         Relations  of,    unchanged  in  change  from  Jewish  to 

Christian  Dispensation,  131-135. 
"         The,  and  Christ,  125-130. 

*'  The,  should  be  secured  in  public  worship,  315-317. 

"         Will  the  apostles  baptize,  102-106. 
Christ,  The  silence  of,  on  infant  church-membership,  131-135. 
Christian  Review  of  Abrahamic  covenant,  .33-36. 

"  scholars  few  in  the  second  century,  260-262. 

"  writings,  The  few  that  remain  from  the  second  cen- 

tury, 266. 
Chrysostom  and  his  mother,  335. 
"  Baptism  of,  210,  211. 

"  Testimony  of,  182-186. 

Church,  Additions  to,  in  apostolic  age  by  families,  293. 
"         Members  of,  originally,  40-42. 
"        Double  basis  of,  43-47. 
"         member,  Can  an  infant  be,  301,  302 
"         Nosecond,  48-58;  136-138. 
"         Strange  conception  of  a,  32,  33. 
"         The,  an  organized  body,  4. 
"         The,  before  Abraham,  1. 
"         The  constitution  of,  divine,  10-12. 
"         The  constitution  of,  not  open  to  amendment,  282-286. 
"         The,  first  organized  with  Abraham,  10. 
"         The,  formed  with  a  village,  13. 
"         The,  founded  on  families,  292. 
"        The  increase  of,  till  lately,  by  families,  293-296. 
"        The,  has  different  phases,  though  one,  59. 


844  INDEX. 

Cetorch,  The  names  of,  in  Old  Testament,  2. 

*'         The  names  of,  transferred  to  the  New  Testament,  3,  56, 58. 

"         The,  not  identical  with  Jewish  nation,  5. 

"         The,  one  and  universal,  6-9. 

"         The  propagating  power  of,  in  the  children,  298. 

"         The,  should  educate  her  children  as  the  state  does,  309. 

"         Theory  of  a  second,  26-36. 

"         visible,  When  organized,  10-25. 

"         What  can  the,  do  for  her  children,  313-329. 
Church -School,  for  candidates,  Need  of,  323-329. 
Circumcision  and  baptism  serve  the  same  end,  59-66. 

"  Introduction  of,  22-25. 

Clemexs  Alexandeinus'  use  of  "regeneration"  and  baptism  as 

synonyms,  249,  250. 
Clemens  Eomaxus,  Introductory  Note. 
CcELESTius,  Testimony  of,  169,  170. 
Commands  of  Christ  not  all  recorded,  64. 
Constitutions,  Apostolic,  Introductory  Note. 
Covenant  with  Abraham  twofold,  13-25. 
"  with  Abraham  national,  13-17. 

"  with  Abraham  spiritual,  17-25. 

Covenants  with  Abraham  23  years  apart,  17,  18. 

"  "        '    "         Another  view  of,  33-36. 

Creed  of  church  very  simple,  11,  12 ;  substance  of,  37-39. 
Creeds,  strange  use  of,  283-285. 
Cyprlvn's  letter  to  Fidus,  221-229. 
Cyprian  on  infant  church-membership,  294,  295. 

"        on  oneness  of  church,  55. 
Cyprian's  use  of  baptism  and  regeneration  synonymously,  252, 

253. 
Cyril's  Twenty-Three  Lectures  to  the  catechumens,  319. 

D. 

Danzius  on  infant  baptism,  89. 

DiospoLis,  Council  of,  167. 

Donatists  The  and  infant  baptism,  177-179. 

E. 

EccLESiA,  the  same  in  Old  and  New  Testament,  56-58. 
Edwards,  Jonathan,  and  Chiistian  children,  325. 


INDEX.  345 


EoBERis,  Council  of,  Tntroductory  Note. 
Elviba,  Council  of,  A.D.  305,  pp.  219-220. 


Family,  The,  a  unit,  40-47,  291,  292. 

"        The  element  indispensable  in  church  organization,  43-47. 
Fathers,  The  works  of  lost,  2()2-20G. 

Females  anciently  reckoned  with  the  males  in  covenants,  42. 
FiDUS,  and  his  question  to  sixty-five  bishops,  221-229. 

G. 

Gexxadhts  on  infant  church-membership,  295, 29(5. 
Gentiles,  added  to  the  church  by  families,  292,  293. 
Gregory  Nazianzen,  The  baptism  of,  211,  212. 

"  "  The  testimony  of,  200-206. 

"  "  and  his  mother,  334,  335. 

H. 

Hermas,  Introductory  Note. 
Hippo  Regius,  Council  of,  A.  D.  393,  p.  190 
HiPPOLYTUS,  Bimsen's,  quoted,  319-321. 
Historical  argument  opened,  154-161. 

•'  argument.  Summary  of,  276-281. 

HovEY,  Rev.  A.,  D.D.,  and  theory  of  a  second  church,  26,  27. 
Household  :  does  the  word  imply  children,  144-149. 

"  baptism,  142-149. 


Infant  baptism  has  no  regenerating  force,  311,  312. 

"  "        why  neglected,  311. 

Infant  church-members.  Difficulty  in  treating,  303-312. 
Infant  church-membersliip.  Testimony  of  Augustine  on,  295. 

''  "  "  "         of  Cyprian  on,  294,  295. 

♦'  "  "  "  of  Gennadius  on,  295,296. 

"  "  "  should  be  thoroughly  recognized  by 

the  Church,  300. 
Innocent,  Testimony  of,  181,  182. 
Iowa  emigrants  and  the  two  cups  of  water,  337,  338. 
iRENiEUS,  and  his  phrase,  "  regenerated  unto  God,"  244-250. 
Isidore  of  Pelusium,  Testimony  of,  158,  159. 


846  INDEX. 


Jerome,  Testimony  of,  151>-60 ;  baptism  of,  214. 
Jewish  baptisms,  71-90. 

"        nation  not  tbe  Church,  5,  6. 

"        nation  and  the  Church,  started  400  years  apart,  13,  14. 

"        nation  and  the  Church,  Difference  between,  19-25,  30-32. 

"        use  of  "regeneration,"  "  new  birth,"  &c.,  245-247. 
Jews,  Tlie  expectation  of,  when  John  came,  67-70. 
John  the  Baptist,  first  appearance  of,  67,  68. 
JuLiAX,  Testimony  of,  170. 

Justin  Martyr's  use  of  ''  regeneration  "  for  baptism,  248. 
Juvenile  Theology,  A  department  for,  needed  in  seminaries,  304. 

K. 

"  Kingdom  of  heaven"  wliat,  125-130,  308. 

L. 

LlGHTFOOT,  82. 

Lord's  Day  and  Supper  as  little  mentioned  as  baptism  by  early 

writers,  267,  268. 
Lost  works  of  the  Fathers,  262-266. 

M. 

Maimonides,  82. 

MiLEVis,  Council  of,  170l 

Milton  on  the  destruction  of  books,  265. 

Monica  and  her  son  Augustine,  335,  336. 

Mothers,  The  influence  of,  3:34-336. 

F. 

Neander  on  the  origin  of  the  Church,  22,  note. 

"  The  theory  of,  against  his  facts  on  infant  baptism,  236, 

242. 

"  and  the  influence  of  mothers,  334-336. 

Neander,  on  delaying  baptism,  204. 
Nectarius,  baptism  of,  209,  210. 
Neoc^sarea,  Council  of,  A.D.  314,  Singular  question  before, 

216-219. 
"  New  birth"  &c..  Origin  of,  in  the  New  Testament,  247. 
Nona  and  her  son  Gregory,  334,  335. 


INDEX.  847 

o. 

Objections  considered,  107-124. 

"  Baptism  a  seal  of  personal  piety  only,  111-113. 

"  Command  to  baptize  only  believers,  107-109. 

"  Includes  females,  as  circumcision  did  not,  117-124. 

"  No  command  to  baptize  children,  109-111,  142,  143. 

"  Takes  away  the  privilege  of  a  pei*soual  profession  of 

religion,  113-110. 

"  That  leading  Fathers  in  the  Church  were  not  baptized 

in  infancy,  208-215. 

"  The  infant  does  not  consent  to  it,  112,  113. 

"  Of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven,"  import  of,  125-130. 
Oi'/cof  and  OlKta,  meaning  of,  147. 
Old  Testament,  rejection  of,  as  authority  for  church  organization, 

26-29. 
Optatus  of  Mileve,'testimony  of,  200,  207. 
Origen,  and  his  parents'  influence  over,  334. 

"         The  testimony  of,  230-230. 
Origen' s  use  of  regeneration  and  baptism,  as  synonyms,  251. 
Original,  sin,  Pelagius'  view  of,  103,  104. 


Pagan  destruction  of  Christian  histories,  264. 

Parents,  and  amusements  for  their  children,  338,  339. 

"         Little  interest  of,  in  infant  baptism,  and  why,  331-333. 
"         Things  said  herein  to  and  for  and  about,  330-340. 

Patriarchs  and  Prophets,  Were  the  church-members,  29,  30. 

Pelagian  controversy  and  infant  baptism,  162-174. 

"  question  before  seven  councils,  yet  infant  baptism  not 

denied,  when  denial  would  avail  so  much,  173. 

Peshito  translation  of  New  Testament,  and  "household,"  148. 

Preaching  should  be  more  for  the  children,  313-315. 

Press,  the  f ruitfulness  of,  in  the  nineteenth  as  compared  with  sec- 
ond century,  259,  260. 

Prince  Albert  and  his  device,  300, 307. 

Proselyte  baptism,  71-90. 


Q. 

Quebec,  and  the  orphan  girls,  336. 


348  ■  INDEX. 

E. 

Rabbies,  authority  of,  91-98. 

"Renascuntub  in  Deum,"  The,  of  Irenseus,  244-256. 

s. 

Sabbath  school  as  related  to  the  Church,  287,  289,  309-311,  321. 
Seldex  on  origin  of  baptisms,  89. 
Septuaglnt,  Origin  of,  72,  73. 

"  Uses  of,  56-58,  73,  74. 

Silence  of  history  on  infant  baptism  considered,  257-272. 

"  of  the  Jews  on  infant  baptism,  273-275. 

Smicnjs,  Testimony  of,  190-192. 
Spencek  on  origin  of  baptism  with  Jews,  89. 
Syeiac,  or  Peshito,  on  "household,"  148. 


Tacitus  on  destruction  of  books,  265,  note. 
Talmuds,  Origin  of,  80,  81. 

"  Authority  of,  91-98. 

Taylor,  C,  on  "household,"  147. 
Tertullian,  The  testimony  of,  237-243. 
Tektullian's  use  of  "regeneration"  for  baptism,  250,  251. 
Theodoeet  of  Mesopotamia,  Testimony  of,  157, 158. 
Tucker,  The  Rev.  J.  T.,  and  his  treatise,  306,  307. 

Y. 

Vincent  of  Lerins,  Testimony  of,  156,  157. 

w. 

Woman,   The   new  position  of,  under  the  New   Dispensation, 
explained,  117-123. 

X. 

Xavieb  and  the  children,  306. 


r 


